


Faster Than A Kiss

by Theriechenbachevent



Category: Skip Beat!
Genre: Anime Within an Anime, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-26
Packaged: 2018-04-23 14:20:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 45,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4880143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theriechenbachevent/pseuds/Theriechenbachevent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyoko Mogami thinks she's finally hit the big times when she's offered the lead role in a drama adaptation of the popular manga "Faster than a Kiss". </p><p>But things take a bit of a nose dive when she finds out that her male lead is none other than Tsuruga Ren. With emotions running high and everyone being forced into new territory, Kyoko's not sure she hasn't bit off more than she can chew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Chapter One: The Beginning of A Romance**

 

"Okay I'll be leaving now!" Mogami Kyoko called into Darumaya behind her.

"Hai! Work hard Koko-chan!" Okami-san called back.

With that, Kyoko sped down the sidewalk to her new job at LME Studios. It had been maybe six months, but Kyoko was finally getting used to being a rising. Her performance of Mio in  _Dark Moon_  had won her national praise for the intensity of the character. This had all started a few months ago, Kyoko reflected as she continued on her way. She had been working multiple jobs to pay for the pent-house apartment she shared in Tokyo with her childhood friend and currently the most popular visual kei artist Fuwa Sho. The two had known each other since birth and when he ran away from Kyoto to Tokyo to become a star, he asked Kyoko to come with him and she, being madly in love with him, had foolishly agreed.

Kyoko began growling and emitting a dark aura as she thought about what had happened next. Sho had taken all her hard work and admiration for him and thrown it right back in her face. She had over heard him talking to his manager about how he had basically brought her here to be his housekeeper even though he acknowledged that he was aware that she loved him. Kyoko growled even louder now scaring some pedestrians that passed her by. Kyoko had sworn revenge on the bastard. She would make him regret ever abandoning her, and she would shine more brightly than he, in the field that he worked in. This, she had promised herself, she would do, even if she died trying. She cackled maniacally as she parked her bike in front of LME Studios and went inside.

"Ahh, I was wondering where that evil aura was coming from, I should've known it was you Kyoko – chan." Yashiro said as he spotted her in the lobby.

"Oh Yashiro-kun," she looked at him smiling, she looked around him, not seeing his usual companion at his side "where's Tsuruga-san?" she asked.

"Oh Ren? He's in a meeting with President Takarada. In fact if I'm not mistaken, you are wanted there as well." He said, pointing down the hallway that led to the executive offices.

"Thanks for telling me Yashiro-san, see you later, bye! " With that Kyoko sprinted down the hallway towards the President's Office.

Yashiro snickered. Ren and Kyoko had  **no**  idea what they were in for. It was going it to be an interesting couple of months, he thought maliciously as he went to go pick up a special delivery.

"Sawara-saaaaaaaaaan!" Sawara heard a gleeful yell before he looked up to find Kyoko racing for the desk he was sitting, in that hideously bright pink LoveMe uniform.

"Good Morning Koko-chan, how are you?" he smiled at the girl.

"Good morning to you as well! I'm just GREAT" Lord, the girl was literally bouncing off the walls, he thought as he watched her. "I was told the President wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Ahh yes," Sawara grinned as if laughing at a private joke. "Right this way" he led Kyoko to the door of the President's office and opened it.

What greeted them was a full Arabian harem full of women and men, ( _possibly in anticipation of me?_  Kyoko thought as she looked around eyes wide). President Takarada lounged in the middle on a chaise and Ren next to him on an equally luxurious chaise but looking far more uncomfortable with all the extravagance, not to mention the scantily clad females that were draping themselves all over him.

"Ahh, Kyoko-chan, my dear, please sit." President Takarada said indicating another chaise beside Ren. He snapped his fingers and instantly 5 gorgeous men are-chested and in harem pants, picked her up and set her down gently in the chaise, leaving her speechless and Ren glowering at the men, who showed no expression, but kept their distance from Ren.

"So my pretties," the President began, "I have a new project that I believe is perfect for the two of you. Since it involves the both of you, I thought I'd tell you together. You have both been requested to work in Director Ogata's new drama." As if on cue, Ogata was led in by a train of young women, in veils and Arabian attire. He sat down next to Kyoko as the President continued, looking throughly uncomfortable, like he didn't know where to look.

"The basic premise of the story goes like this. The drama is based on the manga  **Faster than a Kiss**. Which is about a 16 year old high school girl, Kaji Fumino and her 3 year old brother, Kaji Teppei, both of whom are orphans. One day she and her brother run away from the house where they are staying, and her English teacher, Ojiro Kazuma, finds her in a park and in the heat of the argument agrees to marry her and take care of her family. " Takarada glanced over at Kyoko, who was by this time completely enthralled by the story, and then over at Ren who seemed quite interested as well. He smirked and continued.

"Then something happens that neither of them anticipated. They fell in love with each other. The story goes on to chronicle their married life." The president stopped, looked at both of them and said, "Well, what do you think, will you do it?"

"Eh?" Kyoko looked at him and blinked, "you haven't told us what part we're to play though." She said confused. She looked over at Ren to see what he thought. Ren oblivious to Kyoko was starting feel nauseous as he realized the scheme that the President was boldly playing. Director Ogata, who was feeling uncharacteristically mischievous, silently laughed and handed both of them a copy of the script.

** Faster Than A Kiss **

Ojiro Kazuma... Tsuruga Ren

Kaji Fumino... Mogami Kyoko

Kaji Teppei... Takahashi Jun

Shindō Ryu...Kinnji Setō

Ren swallowed hard, he glanced nervously over at Kyoko who looked equally as nervous. She cleared her throat and spoke carefully, as if she was trying to avoid offending someone.

"Well I think it's a great story, and though I have some reservations about working Tsuruga-sans female lead, I would be glad to do it as a way of expanding my career out of villainous roles." She clasped her hands in her lap, with her head down, waiting for Ren's response. Ren however, was in the midst of mental meltdown.

_Is she insane?_ Ren stared incredulously at her.  _Wait, of course she isn't._  This oblivious woman had no idea what this would do. He was familiar with the novel, and if his suspicions were right, he would spend a large amount of time attempting to control his thoughts. _!_  While his inner battle raged on, he happened to catch sight of the president grin at him. Ren glared at him for putting him in this mess and decided that the president was challenging him. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and glared at the President again _; thinking two can play at this game_  and spoke in his cool measured voice.

"It seems like a wonderful plot, even though I have not read the manga, so I believe Director Ogata has found himself a male lead." He smiled at the Director. The Director clapped his hands in delight.

"Fantastic! I was worried you wouldn't accept, but now that you have, we have a bit more to discuss." His voice grew serious, as he paused long enough to gain their undivided attention.

"This story is more complex than it seems on the surface, you two. While varying parts of the characters are somewhat similar to yours, others are totally foreign to you" He gave Kyoko an assessing look.

Kyoko gulped and looked down. She understood the Director clearly. Ever since her...err... _falling out_  with Fuwa Sho, Kyoko had lost the ability to love. But with this role, Kyoko promised herself, she would gain the emotion back and she would do it flawlessly like Tsuruga-san had in Dark Moon. She snapped back to reality as Ogata continued.

"You Kyoko-chan already possess a strong sense of justice, but you need to master the skill of...how do I put it, letting all your feelings show, and becoming a bit more openly violent." He looked at her intently satisfied that she was already attempting to get a grip on her character. He turned to Ren.

"You on other hand, Tsuruga-san must do something I don't think you have ever done before." Ren looked at him with a genuine puzzled expression. Ogata, President Takarada and Sawara, who had just joined them, all watched Ren closely as Ogata continued.

"Tsuruga-san must learn to be a pervert."

 


	2. Character Search

"P-p-pervert?!" Ren choked out. Kyoko sat shocked as Ren turned 5 different shades of red, and all three adults burst out laughing. Ogata tried to calm himself down as he explained.

"When I say per*gasp* pervert, I don't mean for you to be like a hard-core pervert. What I mean, I that you have to get into a habit of harassing Kyoko-chan but not as in like sexual harassment, but things like make her uncomfortable with your closeness," Ren blushed again, sending the adults into fresh gales of laughter. "Or, like...well read the manga and you'll understand what I mean Tsuruga-san" Ogata tried once more to control himself and this time succeeded. "When you have mastered this part of the character, we will proceed with the filming alright?" He looked at Ren and Kyoko, both of whom meekly nodded their assent.

 _Kaji Fumino – san eh?_  Kyoko thought as she walked towards the LoveMe Section Locker room.  _I wonder she feels so strongly for her brother, so how can she love her teacher so fast? Doesn't her brother hold a larger lace in her heart?_  Koko sighed, as always her love problem had once again reared its ugly head. Dejected she opened the door to the locker room and to her delight, she saw her Kotonami Kanae, her friend, changing in to her LoveMe uniform.

"Moko-saaaaaaaaan!" Kyoko gleefully yelled and sprinted in a mad dash towards her best friend. Kanae's body instantly reacted as she sidestepped Kyoko's hug. Her breath came in panicked pants as she surveyed her friends over eager, slightly forced cheerfulness.  _She has another problem again_ thought Kanae and bluntly said as much to her friend. Almost instantaneously Kyoko's enthusiasm plummeted as she drifted into a self proclaimed doom. Kanae hid an uncharacteristic giggle and coaxed Kyoko to tell her what had happened.

-a little while later-

"I see. Well it's definitely an interesting role to say the least. I've read the manga myself," said Kanae, with a blush. "It's definitely a character out of both of your depths. But I trust you Kyoko, if any one can make this work, it's you." Kanae said pointedly not looking at Kyoko as she said this last line.  _Geh, when did I become so mushy and best-friendy?_  She thought with disgust. She was suddenly startled out of her thoughts as Kyoko gave her a bone crushing hug.

"Kyoko-chan" she gasped, "can't *gasp* BREATHE!" Kyoko instantly let go, apologizing profusely.

"I'm sorry Moko-san! I'm just so happy that you have that much faith in me!" Kyoko got teary eyed and stared at Kanae with unseeing eyes, obviously in the midst of another one of her silly best friend fantasies. Kanae rolled her eyes and slumped in her chair.  _Gah, it's not even 10 o'clock in the morning and I'm already exhausted._  She gave Kyoko a fond glance and quickly covered it up as she thought _but for her it's okay._  Suddenly a question entered her mind.

"Hey Kyoko, what was Tsuruga-sans reaction when he heard you two were the lead actors?" she asked. Kyoko paused and looked like she was thinking.

"it looked like her was going to be sick." She answered honestly and jumped when she heard a snort. She looked around and realized the snorting was coming from Kanae, who was trying her best not to laugh. She soon gave up and laughed until her stomach hurt and her eyes were streaming with tears. Confused, Kyoko hesitantly touched Kanae on the arm.

"Hey Moko-san are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," she gasped," Just fine. Hey can I come watch the filming?" Kyoko delighted with request happily said yes. As soon she said that, Sawara-sans voice came booming over the intercom asking the members of love me to report to his office.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Yashiro was rolling around on the floor of Ren's dressing room, clutching his stomach as hysterical laughter wracked his body.

"Its not funny," grumbled Ren, who was for once completely perplexed. "How on  _earth_  am I supposed to play a perverted teacher?" the mention of the word pervert sent Yashiro into fresh gales of laughter. Suddenly Sawara-sans voice came over the intercom asking for the LoveMe members. Both Ren and Yashiro stopped and listened. When t was over, Ren said glumly.

"A pervert is hard enough but a pervert targeting Kyoko? Not only will it kill me, but she's perpetually hopelessly, no amounts of flirting will get you anywhere with her, except maybe her cursing you to the depth s of hell." He sighed; Yashiro shook his head at how depressed he was. He reached into a bag.

"Well I already knew about the drama, though I didn't know what part you were to play, so I went out and bought you these." Yashiro produced a box with a smile.

"What is it?" asked Ren, hefting the surprisingly heavy box in his hand.

"It's the manga."

Ren nearly dropped the box.

"There are almost twenty volumes in here. Don't forget I also have a script to read and memorize." He exclaimed looking from the box to Yashiro. Hs manager smiled at him beatifically, "these will help you Ren, show you how to act like a pervert. So I'd suggest you get a crack at them now, filming begins in a week."

Ren sighed, and opened volume one. He read silently for twenty minutes, then turned beet red.

"Yashiro, this-this intimacy he shares with her. I could do it with an actress, but with Kyoko? This scene with the chest, if I actually do this, she'll curse me into the next century!" Ren actually looked terrified at the very idea.

Yashiro smirked and decided to put him out of his miser.

"Ren remember this is just a character, you have to remember that this world will require you to do something like this. This will help you break out of the gentlemanly roles that you always get stuck with."

This seemed to get Ren out of the funk he was in and Yashiro glanced at the clock and realized with a start that if they didn't leave right now they would be late for a very important meeting.

"Ren we gotta go! Like now!" He grabbed all the books and mangas and grabbed Ren and sprinted towards the car, dragging Ren along with him.

Kyoko leafed through the massive script of the drama nervously at home later that day.  _This is so MUCH! This is_ _ **not**_ _going to be easy._  She spent the next hour trying to memorize her script and understand her character. She was concentrating so hard, that when her cell phone went off in her bag, she fell off the bed in shock with a crash.

"Aieee, that hurt!" she grumbled as she dug through her bag to find her cell phone. She finally found it, still shrilly announcing the fact that someone wanted to talk with he. She flipped the cell open.

"Hello?"

"Mogami-san, good evening. Hope I am not disturbing you." Came Tsuruga-sans deep and gentle voice over the phone. Koko smiled as she shifted the phone to her right hand and crawled back into bed.

"Not really Tsuruga-san, I was just in bed, looking at the script." Kyoko had no idea what this innocent statement was doing to Ren on the other end of the phone, so she was puzzled at how strangled his voice sounded a second later.

"Well, that's good, I called to let you know we have a photo shoot tomorrow and wondered if you needed a ride." Kyoko grinned; this was just common courtesy on Ren's part. He knew she had no ride and would obviously reply in kind.

"Ah, thank you very much, it would be greatly appreciated f you could pick me up."

"Well then, it's settled, 9 o'clock tomorrow morning ill come to pick you up. Get some rest, alright Mogami san? An actress must always look her best."

"Hai. Good night Tsuruga-san. Wait oh I forgot, Moko-san asked if she could come as well. Is it alright if we pick her up s well?"

"...very well Mogami-san, good night."

"Good night Tsuruga-san."


	3. DAMN YOU TSURUGA REN!

*the next morning *

It was 9:30 in the morning as Ren Kyoko Yashiro and Kanae pulled up at the beach that was to be their set. They looked around searching for the Director who they spotted in the midst of a bustling crew.

Director Shingai waved them over.

"Ah, Shingai-san, so you are the one directing the photoshoot. It'll be a pleasure working with you again after Ring-Doh." Ren smiled graciously and extended his hand. The Director clasped it and shook it vigorously

"Of course Ren aha, you've dyed your hair blond, good thinking. I see Kyoko-chan is here. I knew she was going to be an amazing actress the minute I saw her acting skills in Ring-Doh. That Mio you've created is pure genius!" This last sentence, directed at Kyoko, made her blush.

"Well there's no time to lose." He shoved Ren and Kyoko in the direction of the dressing rooms."Get dressed you two!"

As they went inside, Kanae turned to Shingai and Yashiro.

"Well boys, who wants to bet that those two will be dating, not even halfway into the drama?" she grinned impishly.

"I say they won't at all, even though I want them too. With Kyoko as dense as she is, it's just not possible." Yashiro laughed. Shingai looked thoughtful.

"I beg to differ. I think they'll hook up by the time, the last scene happens, you know the ceremonial marriage?" He smiled slyly, "I think this drama just got a whole lot more interesting.

Inside her dressing room, Kyoko fidgeted nervously as the last of the makeup and clothing was finished. She liked the outfit. But it was...daring, to say the least. She was wearing a two piece polka dotted brown and white (white polka dots) swimsuit. It consisted of bikini top and boy shorts. Her hair brown wig was pulled up into a ponytail, making her feel even more exposed. She couldn't even fathom going out in such a skimpy piece and was busy figuring out what do when there was a knock on the door.

"Kyoko it's me, Moko, are you changed?"

Kanae opened the door and stood shocked at how pretty Kyoko looked, Kyoko on the other hand was turning red under the scrutiny. Moko laughed and closed the door. She walked in a circle fixing Kyoko's hair and straps. She made sure the strings holding the top together at the back were tight and fiddled with the outfit a little until she was satisfied.

"Come on" She said. She grabbed Koko by the hand started to drag her out the door.

Kyoko panicked and resisted.

"WAIT! Moko I can't, it's too embarrassing!"

Just the Shingai called from outside.

"Kyoko Ren is already here, HURRRY UP! Let's get this show on the road!"

Defeated Kyoko let herself be dragged towards the set Moko. As she walked towards the set, Moko was pleased to see the shell-shocked and awed faces of the crew, men and women alike. Even while she was nervous, Kyoko was looked incredible. When she was a couple yards away from Ren, Yashiro, and Shingai finally noticed her. Both the Director and Yashiro dropped the clipboards they were holding, letting them fall to ground with a loud clatter, standing frozen. Ren on the other hand let his eyes wander u and down Kyoko's toned frame, his breath hitching in his throat. He finally realized just how hard this drama could be. Then Ren realized Kanae was trying not laugh.

"Kotonami-san, why are you laughing?" Ren said confused. Kanae giggled uncharacteristically and said.

"Kyoko is why I'm laughing. She's embarrassed to see you bare-chested and in swim trunks." She started laughing harder as a mortified Kyoko yelled at her and Ren realized that this was almost akin to seeing other in their underwear. They both caught each other's eyes and looked away blushing. The director, who had gotten over his momentary stupor, looked at them, new ideas for poses already forming in his mind. He picked up the forgotten clipboard and clapped his hands together.

"What why is everyone standing around? We're burning daylight people, let's move!" he yelled. Instantaneously everyone jumped to finish their tasks. The director turned to Ren and Kyoko.

"Alright Ren, I think you've already grasped the idea that Kazuma loves to harass his young bride, correct?" Ren nodded apprehensively.

"So I think we'll approach this shoot from an acting viewpoint. Kyoko-chan," He turned to her as she snapped to attention. "We'll play it like a scene in the drama. Imagine this. You're at the beach, and though you're seriously in love with Kazuma, you're seriously scared about being found out. While talking you accidentally tell him that you've never been kissed. Now right away you know it was a bad idea, because he harasses you the entire time." He looked at both of them and realized that they still refused to look at each other. He sighed.

"Kyoko-chan, Ren, I realize this is hard, but we can't do a photoshoot or a drama with the two of you acting this way. Koko this is really you debut as a female lead, so I expect the same professionalism I saw in Ring Doh am I understood?" Both of them squared their shoulders, and looked at each other with determination.

"Okay Tsuruga –san, let's do this!" Koko pumped her fist in the air.

"Yes." Ren agreed. He saw Yashiro and Kanae on the sidelines and gave them a thumbs up, both of whom returned it smirking, as they knew what the director had in store for them.

"Alright, first we`re going to take some cover shots," Shingai called out from the cameras. "So guys, edge towards the water a little bit, I want the ocean in the background. " He moved them around a bit until he was satisfied.

"Alright Ren, I need you to lift Kyoko up against you...good now I need you to rest your foreheads together like you're happy and content." It took a couple tries but they finally got it right and were able to move on to the next pose.

"Okay Ren I need you to in Kyoko on the ground under you like you were just wrestling. Kyoko you have to look happy but embarrassed, Ren you just need to look like you enjoy teasing her." Shingai called out.

_No problem there_ , thought Ren, as he carefully lowered himself over Kyoko. Kyoko, her brown hair had been let out so it flared around her in an arc. He looked at Koko seeing that she had her eyes closed and breathing shallowly and realized that she was uncomfortable with her situation even though she was trying to be professional. Ren lowered himself like you would in a push up, so he could whisper in Kyoko's ear.

"Mogami-san, you have grasped Fumino-san's character well, have you not?" Startled, her eyes flew open and she responded.

"Well yes –"

"Look, all you have to do is let yourself drift into Fumino's character. She loves Kazuma, right?" She nodded.

"And she's a bit of a prude isn't she?" again a nod. "So what would she do if she was caught under Kazuma?" Kyoko thought for a moment.

"She would like it but would still be embarrassed therefore she would yell at him a lot right Tsuruga-san?"

Pleased that she had understood, Ren smiled at her.

"Yes, I got it!"Elated, she pumped her fist in the air and accidentally kicked her feet as well.

"Oof!" Ren grunted at the impact as her knee collided with his solar plexus. Disoriented, he collapsed onto Kyoko, who realized she had kicked him. She began stammering her apologies as the crew gathered around them and helped Ren off her. Over on the sidelines, Yashiro and Kanae rolled about in the sand hysterically laughing and clutching their stomachs. The director himself was trying in vain to hide his laughter as he leaned over to ask if Ren was good to continue the shoot.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry. Lets continue" Ren jumped as he felt an extraordinarily depressed aura coming from behind him, where he sat in the sand.

"I'M SORRY TSURUGA-SAN! I'M A HORRIBLE, DESPICABLE DEPLORABLE EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING!" she prostrated herself on the ground in front of Ren, earning him strange looks from the crew. Kyoko oblivious to the stares had her demons coiling about her, ready to protect their master in the face of the Demon Lord's wrath.

"Mogami-san, stop that. It's alright, you got a little too excited sometimes, there's nothing wrong with that." He knelt down where she was still prostrated on the ground. "Plus, the crew is giving me weird looks. They're going to start thinking I do strange things to you, which is why you're so scared of me." Kyoko started and turned beet red and quickly got to her feet. Ren looked at the Director and called out.

"Are we ready Shingai-san?"

When Shingai signalled his okay, Ren turned a blinding smile to Kyoko who cringed.  _Oh no he's angry! He's definitely angry!_  While Kyoko was occupied with being terrified mentally, she didn't notice Ren come closer to her. Suddenly he grabbed her wrist and flung her to the ground and pinned her there underneath him. Over on the sidelines, Yashiro and Kanae watched with interest.

"You think he's finally lost it?" snickered Kanae. Yashiro smirked.

"I think not, let's give him a bit more credit than that shall we?"

"Um, Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko squeaked, her face flaming red and terrified.

Mogami-san, keep it up, the blush is exquisite." Ren murmured. "Now look into the camera,  _Fumino-san._ " They both tilted their heads up with a mischievous grin from Ren and an embarrassed grimace from Kyoko.

_**Click!** _

With all the commotion on set, no one noticed Kanae take a photo of the same scene, cleverly excluding the camera crew. Smiling she pocketed the camera, until the next shot. Yashiro noticing her smile, said,

"Kotonami-san? Why are you smiling and what are you going to use that photo for?" Without taking her eyes off the couple, she said

"Oh nothing, all I want to do really is give a certain visual-kei artist a bit of a heart attack." She grinned evilly as Yashiro caught on and was already fishing for an envelope from his briefcase.

"Shoko-saaaaaaaaan! I'm  _hungry_!" Fuwa Sho draped himself over his petite manager, retending to be dying of hunger. Shoko sighed and grabbed of car keys off the table in Sho's dressing room.

"Hai, hai. What do you want?"

"Pudding cups."

Shoko nearly fell over.

"Sho, did you just say you wanted  _pudding cups_?" She looked at him incredulously, while he narrowed his eyes and gave her an irritated look.

"What? Just because I'm a music star, I can't have a darned pudding cup?" Shoko hastily shook her head, sensing a tantrum fast approaching.

"Good. Now go get it!"

As Shoko positively fled the dressing room, Sho sighed, sat down on the couch and wearily closed his eyes. He was annoyed. He had blurted out pudding cups without even thinking, because whenever Kyoko had wanted him to stay in the apartment, she would bring out a pack of pudding cups, his favourite snack and bribe him into staying longer.

A familiar ache settled into his heart as he thought about her, and then just as quickly as her image appeared in his mind, so did  _his_. Sho snarled in disgust.  _Damn him!_  Thought Sho.  _Kyoko is mine dammit! She has been since the day we met! Nobody and I mean nobody is going to take her away from me! She's my damn property, and if that damn bastard tries to lay even one finger on her, I'll crush him with everything I've got!_  As these thoughts raged in his mind, a shuffling sound brought him back to the present. He looked over at his door and saw a white envelope on the floor. Curious he went over and picked it up.

Opening it, he found that it contained 10 Polaroid shots. His eyes widened as her realized it was Kyoko in a brown wig that was pulled into a high ponytail. His cheeks reddened as he saw the first picture of her in a bikini top and boy shorts. _I've known her sixteen years and I've never seen this? Where the hell was I?_ He thought incredulously. Then he flipped to the next picture and stopped His eyes narrowed, he saw Tsuruga Ren his hair dyed blonde, kissing Kyoko's,  _his Kyoko's,_  neck, as she sat in his lap. The next was him on top of Kyoko, then Kyoko and Ren on the beach playing in the water. They looked so damn happy that he couldn't stand it and he quickly flipped to the last picture. If Sho thought he was angry before, well he was  _furious_  now. This shot was of Kyoko in an elaborate and gorgeous backless wedding gown,. Ren was kissing her neck and he slipped his hands underneath the shoulder art of the dress to slide it off. Kyoko herself looked like she was enjoying it greatly. Her eyes closed and her face red. Sho couldn't take any more; he threw the pictures away, picked up his coffee table and flung it across the room.

"DAMN YOU TSURUGA REN!"

 


	4. Open Wide!

"Ahhhh-choooo!" Ren sneezed while going over the script with Shingai. The Director laughed.

"Ah Ren someone's talking about you behind your back!"

"And with less than friendly words I'd say, from the looks of that sneeze." said Yashiro dryly.

"I hope not," said Ren smiling. "That would mean someone doesn't buy my gentlemanly act." They all laughed. Ren looked around.

"So where's the boy who's playing Teppei?" He asked. Shingai pointed down the hallway.

"He met Koko an hour ago, before you came, the boy is glued to her. She's playing with him as we speak." Ren started and stared at the Director.

"Wait how old is he?"

"3 1/3" Ren relaxed, not to be missed by Yashiro and Shingai who noticed the relieved sigh that escaped his lips.

"Ren, Ren, Ren." Shingai said, shaking his head. "This is an all time new low. You're jealous of a three year old?"

"Shaddup." Ren groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "Don't you think I know it's pathetic?" Yashiro laughed.

"What's pathetic?" The trio turned to see Kyoko standing in the doorway with a sleeping toddler in her arms. Ren crept over to look at the raven haired child.

"Is this Takahashi-san?"Ren said softly. "He looks almost exactly like Teppei." Kyoko grinned.

"You think he's cute now? You haven't seen anything yet. He can get a  _whole_  lot cuter." They gazed fondly at the child in her arms, oblivious to Yashiro and Shingai's whispering.

"Wow, if those two got married and had a kid, this is what it would like."

"I was thinking the same thing. Yamada," Said Shingai to the photographer, "Take a photo of those two without them knowing." Yamada grinned and took a photo surreptitiously. Then Shingai turned and said.

"Okay I believe we can finish the shoot because Kinnji Seto has arrived from his flight from Berlin." As if on cue, Kinnji Seto walked in. He was tall, like Ren. He had black hair, like Ren, looked like Ren's twin brother. The only difference was that Ren himself had dyed his hair blonde for the role of Kazuma. Kinnji strolled over to Kyoko, gave a low bow, and kissed one of her free hands, instantly unleashing Ren's wrath.

_What the hell?_  Thought Ren.  _I know Kinnji well; he's almost my closest friend in show business aside from Yashiro. Why is he coming on to Kyoko like that? If he tries anything I'll pulverize him._  Kinnji looked up at Kyoko's face and burst out laughing, which he instantly tried to muffle so as not to wake up the sleeping youth. At Ren's motioning, Takahashi's manager came and quietly removed her charge. Kyoko indignantly put her hands on her hips and asked Kinnji why he was laughing at her. Ren eyed the actor warily, not sure what to make of the situation, wondering the same thing.

"I'm very sorry Mogami-san – may I call you Kyoko? Thank you, Kyoko I really hope I haven't offended you. You see when I walked in, and I saw you with Jun – yes I've worked with him before. I saw you with him and you looked so much like my wife that I couldn't help myself. What? Oh yes I'm married. Then I looked up, and you had the strangest look on your face. It was terrified? Embarrassed? I'm not sure what it was, but it was hilariously funny to see, and I couldn't stop the laughter."

This seemed to satisfy Kyoko. She smiled grudgingly and shook his hand.

"Well I`m glad to have met you, it`s always pleasant working with an actor who has a sense of humour. I look forward to acting alongside you, Kinnji-san." She smiled at Kinnji, who smiled back.

"Please, call me Seto."He bowed again. Kyoko laughed, and then excused herself to change for their first photoshoot together. Kinnji and Ren watched her leave the room, then Kinnji turned to Ren, his eyes crinkled in unvoiced laughter.

"So Ren you finally found yourself a girl." Ren looked at him annoyed.

"Why did you hit on her like that?" Kinnji chuckled.

"I wanted to see if what President Takarada said was true. He said that you had a real crush on this girl." Ren cringed.

"Do  **NOT**  call it a crush. You make me sound like some prepubescent lovesick teenager." He said his cheeks red, and voice lightly irritated.

"Isn't that what you are?" Ren looked at him indignantly.

"I resent that."

"Resent it all you like Ren, it doesn't change the fact that you looooooove her." Kinnji ducked just in time to avoid a sideways swipe from Ren. He waggled his eyebrows at Ren and danced farther away from him. Ren looked at him irritated.

"You know it`s a good thing you're playing Ryu in this drama. You  _need_  a good beating."

Kinnji just winked and strolled off towards his dressing room. Ren watched him leave and walked to his own dressing room, more than annoyed now.

Kyoko was so happy that she was ecstatic. It was the next day and they were getting ready for the first scene of the drama to be shot. Kyoko was happy because her best friend Moko was coming to watch the shoot AND she got to wear a cute school uniform. She had her long brown wavy hair and the navy skirt that was admittedly very short. That was the only drawback, one that Koko was happily willing to tolerate. She heard a knock at the door.

"Kyoko its Moko, I'm coming in." Kanae came into the room clucking her teeth appreciatively at how pretty Kyoko looked.

"Come on you have to get on set." She took Kyoko by hand and led her to the school building facade that had been set up on the lot. Kyoko looked around, the first twinges of nervousness starting in her stomach.

"Moko-san, what if I mess up?" she whispered in Kanae's ear. Kanae looked surprised.

"Kyoko you won't, you're too good an actress. Besides are you going to let  _Tsuruga-san,_  do all the acting? Are you just going to follow him? Like a puppy?" Kanae said his name like it was a disease, and at the mention of the of the word puppy, Kyoko suddenly had an image of Mimori pop up in her mind.  _No way_! She thought vehemently. _There is no way I'm going to even vaguely resemble_ _ **that.**_ She took a deep breath and walked on to the set that was crawling with extras, and met the girl she was going to be defending in the first scene. While Kanae moved off set, Kyoko attempted to talk with the girl. She was a sweet teary eyed, little girl who was sixteen but looked like an 8 year old. Kyoko smiled and extended her hand.

"Hi, I'm Kyoko; it'll be a pleasure working with you." The girl looked awed and shook her reverently.

"My name is Tamaki Yuki." She bowed very deep. Suddenly Ogata-sans voice boomed across the set.

"2 MINUTES UNTIL SHOOTING. " Everyone scrambled to get last minute touches in place before bounding off set, so that only the actors were left. Ogata came up to her.

"Alright, Kyoko, Ren." A window near Kyoko slid open and Ren peered out in his glasses and teacher attire. Kyoko muffled a laugh with her hands. She had never thought Ren could look silly. It's not that he was wearing anything laugh worthy, it was just his manner. He just seemed so much more unprofessional and fit so much more into the role he was playing. Ren glared at her in his mortification at playing a perverted teacher. Kyoko was already almost in character so his glare didn't bother her too much.

"So you two, in this first scene, Kyoko is going to save Yuki-chan from a bully that is trying to mug her. Then when she's done, you will pop out of the window? Alright?" Both their assent and took their starting positions. As Kyoko took a deep breath, she heard somewhere off in the distance someone yell "Action!" Suddenly Kyoko no longer existed and was replaced by Fumino.

**Fumino rounds a corner and hears:**

" **Help! Please someone! Oh – no, please don't take that!" Fumino ran around the corner and delivers a flying kick into the thug's face.**

" **HOW DARE YOU MUG A GIRL!"**

**The bully instantly got back up and grabbed her shirt.**

" **Who is this girl?!" his head snaps up as he sees the gym teacher Mr. Lao coming. He was visibly shaking in fear.**

" **Shit! We'll continue this later!" The bullies fled.**

**Fumino turns around and looks at a window.**

" **You're a teacher and you rely on a student? How pitiful." The window opens to reveal a teacher.**

" **What are you talking about? If they hit me it'll hurt!"**

" **THAT'S CALLED BEING UNCOOL!" she yelled.**

"CUT!" The director yelled. "That was perfect! Alright, let's change for the next scene!"

Kyoko even didn't have time register a reaction as she ran to change and get Takahashi-san. Kyoko grabbed him and changed into a frilly dress with an apron. They went to the next set, which was of an apartment. She seated herself in front of the door with her hands clenched in front of her.

"And Action!

***voice overlay.***

_**[While it may look like Ojiro-sensei and I have a bad relationship. It's actually like this...** _ **]**

" **The front door opens and Ojiro sensei walks in.**

" **Welcome home darling !" Fumino says through clenched teeth.**

" **Ooh" Ojiro-sensei claps his hands. "Bravo! My fatigue from today has all blown away, wife!" Fumino gets angry.**

" **What the hell is this!? Why do I have to dress up like this?!" she shook her fist in Sensei's face, threatening to hurt him.**

" **Fumino-san, you can't cook." The simple sentence made her keel over.**

" **Gah."**

" **So it's only fair isn't it? You do a wife cos-play and I cook dinner." He smiled impishly at Fumino.**

The broke for a scene change again and were now in a park setting near the studio. Kyoko was back in her school uniform, she had a rolling suitcase and Jun was with her, in his cute school clothes. When Ogata called action she instantly felt exhausted as if the weight of the world rested on her shoulders.

***voice overlay***

_**[The marking of this weird lifestyle began when my brother and I both lost our parents. We were sent from relative to relative. Getting tired we ran away from the house. It began there from the worst possible scenario, when we in the midst of a crisis.]** _

**A man came up to Fumino asking she would have sex with him for money.**

" **How about $300? "**

" **Go away." She was too tired to punch him**

" **Okay $500."**

" **Meh." She closed her eyes to go to sleep.**

_**BAM!** _ **Fumino's eyes flew open. In front of her stood her English teacher, Ojiro-sensei. Behind him lay the man who was asking for sex. Sensei looked out of breath.**

" **I was looking all over for you Kaji-san!"**

***voice overlay***

**[With his crumpled suit, it was only my English teacher that looked for us.]**

It was strange; Ren thought as he was doing the scene, he felt a strange panic. He felt as if this was actually happening. He returned to his character.

" **Let's go back Kaji-san!" He grabbed her arm and began to haul her up.**

" **To where?" she replied irritably."And don't go knocking people out, I need the money. I have to look after my brother." Sensei looked at her.**

" **Then come to my place." Suddenly Fumino was annoyed.**

" **DON'T GIVE ME ANY VAGUE SYMPATHY!" She yelled at him, aware that Teppei was watching them. Sensei's eyes flashed dangerously.**

" **IT'S NOT VAGUE!"**

" **OH REALLY?! WILL YOU MARRY ME AND TAKE CARE OF US THEN?! I DIDNT THINK SO!" Fumino got right up in his face. Sensei, not one to back down, yelled right back:**

" **YEAH I WILL!"**

_**HUH?!** _ **All that registered in Fumino's mind was a state of shock, as he dragged her to a marriage office. By the time she had come out of her stupor, she had already signed the forms, and Ojiro sensei was playing with Teppei, as he filled out the last of the forms.**

" **Ojiro-sensei is this really okay?" she asked, she was grateful that he could care for them but she didn't want their marriage to him in trouble. He winked at her.**

" **It's okay Kaji-san. I chose to marry you. Whatever happens next, we face together." He went back to signing the forms leaving Fumino shell shocked.**

Something similar was happening to Kyoko. She knew that Tsuruga-san was just saying that while acting but for some reason that one word,  _together_ , made her feel safe. Like he would protect her from anything, like she could depend on him for anything. She blushed and forced herself back to the scene.

**All of a sudden the man at the marriage licensing desk was handing Ojiro-sensei an official looking paper with a stamp on it. With a jolt Fumino realized that she was now married to Ojiro –sensei. She studied his face closely as they entered his apartment. She showered Teppei, put him to bed and waited for Sensei to come out from the bath. When he came out, she looked at him and patted the bed that she was sitting on.'"Come on" she said, not meeting his eyes. He sat down next to her.**

" **And now what?" he looked at her. He seemed genuinely confused.**

" **We're going to do it right? If we are, let's just get it over with." She closed her eyes as he got closer.** _ **Oh no, I scared! But I can't tell him to stop now!**_ **She braced herself for him to push her down. Then she felt a hand on her chest.**

" **Too small. If you want to do it, at least grow them to a C." Fumino's vision went red with rage.**

" **GO DIE!" She kicked him straight across the room.**

"AND CUT!" Fumino snapped back to Kyoko, as Kazuma snapped back to Ren. Neither could look at the other. Ren's face went red; he could still feel her chest the way it had felt against his hand. Kyoko was confused however. She couldn't figure out her feelings. She was perplexed; when he had touched her, it was like her body was on fire. She hadn't wanted him to take his hand off.  _Is this love?_  She wondered? She instantly dismissed the idea.  _No way, if it was it would be like how it was with Sho._ She turned to Ren and threw herself at his feet, remembering what she had done a couple seconds before. Ren backed up a couple of steps.

"IM SORRY TSURUGA-SAN!" Ren realized she was talking about the kick and laughed.

"It's alright Mogami-san; it was scripted, so really, there's nothing to apologize for." Her aura of doom instantly lifted and she smiled. Then Ren's stomach growled. Loudly. Kyoko narrowed her eyes, while Ren carefully avoided her gaze.

"Reeeeen..." He stiffened as he felt Kyoko's little demons wind themselves around him, immobilizing him.

"Have you eaten anything at all today?" She glared at him, and Ren answered, well aware that Shingai had just arrived with Kinnji and was watching them with Yashiro Ogata and Kanae. He chose his next words carefully.

"I had one rice ball today at 9 in the morning." He was actually quite proud of himself for eating what he considered a full course meal. He realized that all around him, jaws were hanging open.

"What?" he said somewhat defensively. Kyoko glared at him and turned the full force of the glare onto Yashiro.

"Yashiiiiiiro-saaaaaannn..." Her grudge demons coiled themselves around her new target. "You're his manager! Why can't you get him to eat properly?!" Yashiro cringed as Kanae, Shingai and Ogata chuckled quietly.

"I'm sorry! But he's so stubborn he refuses to eat anything because we have such a tight schedule!" Just then the lunch bell chimed, signalling all the crew and actors to get their lunches.

"Alright:" she said. "Tsuruga-san is my Sempai and since his own  _manager,_ "she glared at Yashiro _,_  "Can't get him to eat properly, I will." She high fived Moko and strolled off to get the lunch boxes, while the rest of them found a table. As soon as she walked away, they all burst out laughing at Ren. Kinnji wiped his tearing eyes.

"Ren, I'd watch myself if I were you. She reminds me of my wife, and I wouldn't put it past her to hand feed you," Ren, jumped and actually looked terrified of the very idea.

"She wouldn't actually do that...would she?" he squeaked. The men all stared and Yashiro snorted.

"Ren I just lost any and all respect I have for you. You just squeaked!"

While the men and Kanae ragged on Ren, Koko was coming back from getting their lunch boxes and had managed to hear the last part of the conversation. She grinned, she finally knew how she could get Tsuruga-san to eat on his own. She would embarrass him into it. She would treat him just like she used to treat Sho. Her expression momentarily darkened, and then cleared again, as she planned her strategy. She giggled, alerting them to her presence and walked to the table. Kyoko sat herself down in between Kanae and Ren, who sucked in his breath at her closeness. While he was occupied, Kyoko passed out the lunches and took the chopsticks from Ren's box and opened his for him, picking up a tempura roll with them. She got up, cursing his height in her mind and smiled and said.

"Open wide!" Ren stared blankly back at her. Kyoko sighed, and grabbed his chin, gently forcing his mouth open and put the tempura roll in. Everyone at the table snorted into their food, even Ogata, whilst Ren chewed, stupefied. Kyoko picked up a glass of water and put it to his mouth, which brought him back to reality.

"Mogami-san," he said firmly. "I can drink on my own." She giggled

"Sure you can. Now open wide one more time!" and before Ren could speak, she began stuffing him again, so that it was all he could do to keep up. In between feeding him, she also fed herself, not bothering to change her chopsticks. Ren realized this halfway through and blushed furiously, seeing that it was like an indirect kiss. Kyoko didn't notice him blushing and kept on feeding him. Finally she gave him a glass of water and picked up everyone's finished lunches and took them to the food co-ordination assistant across the room. As soon as she left, Shingai, Kinnji, Ogata Yashiro, and even Kanae, burst into loud raucous laughter. Kinnji grinned at Ren who was still recovering from shock.

"What did I tell you Ren?" He snickered along with everyone else. "I warned you she was capable of it." Suddenly Kinnji, looked, up a broad smile on his face as his gaze fixed on something across the room.

"Hey Ren, I believe the President has arrived."

 


	5. Encounters of the Worst Kind

Ren got up, wiped his mouth on a napkin and made his way over to the President, who had, as usual, made his entrance on horseback in Arabian attire. He was praying furiously, hoping that the President hadn't seen anything. His hopes sank like the  _Titanic_  as he saw the ridiculously broad smirk on the President's face. He led the President back to their table keeping stoically silent as Takarada chuckled silently next to Ren.

It wasn't until he was seated and had greeted Kyoko, Shingai, Ogata, Kinnji, Yashiro and Moko, that he began to grill Ren.

"So Ren, are you already at the marriage stage? I could've sworn she was feeding you like a good wife." Ren grimaced.

"Please refrain from mentioning that" He kept his face expressionless, praying that his embarrassment would not manifest itself in the form of a blush. His hopes were in vain.

"Oh look" Takarada cried gleefully. "You blushed! Tsuruga Ren just blushed!" Ren cleared his throat frantically pleading with his eyes around the table for someone to save him. Unfortunately, most everyone was having too much and ignored. Kyoko however understood him and asked the president.

"Um, President-san? Was there an official reason for this visit?" She asked innocently. She felt sorry enough for him. She had embarrassed him enough, and if she let it go any farther he would definitely come after her later with a vengeance. And really, who knew what Tsuruga Ren was capable of? She looked at the president expectantly. He pouted at being derailed so quickly but continued.

"Yes actually. Since this was a joint project between Ogata and Shingai, I expected it to be a success, but it's overwhelming the response we've received. Since the display of the posters and playing of the trailer, it's amazing people are going crazy with anticipation. " Kyoko beamed, really proud of everyone.

"In fact, many of your fan sites – yes you have many fan sites actually Kyoko-chan" said the President in response to Kyoko's confused look. "They have already given you a couple name. At the moment I believe they are torn between two. Ryoko or Ken." (A/N: _ **Yes I realize they're silly, but on short notice it's all I could think of!)**_. The rest of the table roared with laughter, even Moko, Kyoko blushed and Ren laughed.

"Well to give them credit, the names are original."

"Yes well in any case you have been invited on a talk show tomorrow, apparently they are are three other guest stars, but they won't reveal who they are. Is that alright with you?" He looked at the two.

Ren looked at Kyoko and answered for her and himself.

"That's fine. We can handle it. Isn't that right Mogami-san?" She smiled at him.

"Of course, Tsuruga-san." Suddenly there was a commotion at the cafeteria door. They looked over to see Fuwa Sho trying to force his way through the barrage of security guards even though the sign on the cafeteria door clearly said " _ **Actors and Crew of Faster than a Kiss Only**_ _."_

"KYOKO!" he bellowed."WHERE THE _**HELL**_ ARE YOU?!"

Scowling Ren made to go over, when a small hand on his shoulder stopped him. He looked up to see Kyoko already standing. Even with her brown wig and school costume the look of hate she had on her face was still pure Kyoko. She spoke quietly.

"Let me deal with him." Se said and walked towards Sho. Ren clenched his hands so that he wouldn't follow her, as the other occupants of the table whispered amongst themselves.

"Who is that?" Shingai whispered.

"He's a visual kei singer. Apparently one of Kyoko's childhood friends" said Ogata. Kinnji looked skeptical.

"Friend? That is no way a friend of Kyoko-chan's would announce himself." Kanae joined the conversation.

"That's because that scumbag is  _not_  or ever will be her friend."

"SHHHH!" President Takarada motioned them to be quiet as they watched Kyoko confront her enemy. Even though Ren knew she wanted to deal with him alone, he couldn't quell the feeling of panic that was bubbling in his chest to equal almost near hysteria.

As Kyoko approached Sho, she slipped into Natsu's character so that she could deal with him properly. Never taking her eyes off him, she addressed the crew that trying to restrain him.

"Thank you for your help everyone, I will take it from here, if I could just have some privacy." Everyone scrambled to get away from the two, for the tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife.

"So  _Fuwa-san_ ," Kyoko said coolly, making the demotion from friend to enemy perfectly clear. "What brings you here?"

Sho's eyes narrowed.

"What the HELL is this? We're childhood friends so where the hell do you get off doing some crappy drama with  _him_  for!?" He pointed at Ren who stiffened in his seat at the unvoiced insult. Though Sho and Kyoko were well away from the crew, the silence in the cafeteria made it all too easy to hear every word between them.

"Oh sorry," said Kyoko sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest." I wasn't aware that I needed your permission to act in a drama." She raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. Sho glared at her and rummaged around in his bag. He found what he was looking for and whipped out a large poster, waving it in her face. Kyoko took a step back to focus on the poster. Her eyes widened. It was a promo poster for the series, a collage of various shots, to be seen later in the show. It was the focus shot however, she suspected that had Shotaro so riled up. It was a scene where she was pushed up against the wall with Ren as Kazuma, pulling the neck of her school uniform slightly down to kiss her collarbone. The others were shots of Ren running after Kinnji as Ryu trying to beat him with a baseball bat screaming. There was a shot of Ren hugging Teppei and Fumino outside the train station as well.

"WHAT THE  _IS_  THIS!?" Sho yelled bringing Kyoko back to the present. She sighed still in Natsu's character.

"Fuwa-san," Sho's eyes bulged at the name. "This," Kyoko said condescendingly. "Is a poster." She drew the word out as if he were an idiot. "it is used to show pictures in a large scale way." Sho's face turned an ugly shade of purple.

"I know that! Dammit woman, don't you have any shame?!" This screamed statement slightly shocked Kyoko into a momentary silence. Sho took the opportunity to grab her hand and start to haul her out the door.

"You are coming with me! There is no way in  _ **hell**_  that I'm going to let you do this drama!" Kyoko instantly slipped out of Natsu's character and went back to Kyoko.  _Oh no,_  she thought, _there is no way I'm letting him boss me around like before. He is_ _ **not**_ _my master. How_ _ **dare**_ _he touch me?!_ She halted his progress towards the door by dragging her feet. He looked back at her confused, this gave her enough time to walk closer and lift her foot and smash it on Sho's with all the force she could muster. Sho yelled and hopped on one foot.

"OWWW! What the f-"he was cut off as Kyoko, short as she was, grabbed the front of his shirt.

"Fuwa-san, I am  _not_  the girl you once claimed to know. In truth you never that Kyoko either. But as I told you, that Kyoko has long since died." She forced him to her level. "My life used to revolve around you, but not anymore. You broke my heart in the cruelest way possible Fuwa-san. You used to be my prince, my  _everything,_  now, you're nothing but a lowly rat. So remember this, I am not Kyoko to you any longer, I am Mogami-san, am I understood?" When Sho didn't respond and just stared blankly at her, Kyoko shook him a little for emphasis. "Am I understood?" She growled. "If so then get out!" she gave him a predatory grin and shoved him away. He staggered back, and then straightened himself up.

"Watch it,  _Kyoko_. Don't think that just because you got a part in one drama that you are suddenly up to my level." He gave her a condescending look, turned and made to leave Then he stopped and said over his shoulder.

"You know, your mother thought you were worthless, I didn't think so at first but now I think she may have been right. Anyone who can give up their pride so easily miust be." He smirked, knowing he had hit a nerve and left. Kyoko was left standing rooted to the ground in shock. In the background she was dimly aware Ren getting up and being stopped by Moko-san from approaching her. She noticed Sho's manager Shoko, standing in the door way. She flushed, bowed and ran after her charge. Kyoko realized that everyone was staring at her, so she forced a smile and turned around.

"President –san," She said in a shaky voice. "I will be coming to the talk show tomorrow. Will you be kind enough to tell me where it is?" Ren interrupted. "It doesn't matter Mogami-san, I will pick you up in the morning and we'll get Kotonami-san as well from her house. But, are you alright?" Ren looked at her concerned. He was so angry he couldn't properly understand what was going on. He could not believe what Sho had just said. The sheer devestation it must have caused her to hear that was something that only Kyoko knew. _  
_

Kyoko looked at them smiling harder than ever.

"I'm fine, of course I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be? If that is all then I will take your leave." And with that Kyoko fled the cafeteria. Kanae got up and excused herself as well to go after Kyoko, she stopped in front of Ren and pinned him with a glare.

"Do not go all interrogator on her afterwards. If you want her to trust you, than let her come to you herself." She looked meaningfully at him and then ran after her best friend. Ren slumped in his chair. He let out a sigh as he felt Kinnji's hand on his shoulder. His voice was sympathetic.

"Ren, she has no ride home. So when you drive, let her talk if she wants to. Don't push her too much." Ren nodded miserably and got up to see if she was alright.

Kyoko ran to dressing room so fast that she couldn't tell how she even got there. Once inside she closed the door and sank to the floor.

_You know, you're mother thought you were worthless, I didn't think so at first but now I think she may have been right_

That simple line. That cruel simple line. How many times had she cried when her mother called her worthless? How many? She couldn't even remember. Suddenly she was startled out of her reverie by Kanae's surprisingly timid knock on her dressing room door.

"Kyoko? It's Kanae, open up." Kyoko opened the door and let Kanae in. Kanae eyed Kyoko warily. It looked like she wanted to cry but didn't know how to any more. Closing her eyes with a small sigh, Kanae opened her arms and gave Kyoko a small smile.

"I'm only doing this cause it's you. Come here." Kyoko let out a small sob and rushed to her friend. They both sank to the floor as Kyoko clutched at Kanae, and sobbed and sobbed. She wept at the cruelty of Sho's behaviour from the start, at the cruelty of his words and the cruelty of her mother, who had never loved her. Kyoko thought to herself desolately,  _does anyone love me? Has anyone ever loved me..?_  Then as if Kanae had read her mind, Kanae murmured to her.

"I love you Kyoko, the Darumaya couple love you, Ren loves you, Maria-chan loves you, Kuu-san loves you...everyone loves you." Kyoko began to sob even harder. She had never cried when Sho dumped her, she hadn't let herself. Now all she could do was blubber incoherent words at Kanae as she cried her heart out.

"Sho...worthless..plain...mother...loved him...servant...waaaaah" Kanae hugged Kyoko tighter at the mention of Sho

"sssshhhhh, he's gone now. He can't hurt you anymore."

"prince...loved him so much...so many jobs...all alone...for so long..."

As Kyoko continued to cry, and Kanae continued to comfort her, both were oblivious to the fact that Ren stood outside the door eavesdropping. His heart clenched at the sound of her anguished voice. He had never known such pain, her crying hurt him worse than any physical injury he had ever sustained. Suddenly Kanae opened the door. Kyoko lay behind, in an exhausted slumber.

"Sssshhhhh, she's asleep, I've packed her things, let's get her home." Ren nodded silently and lifted Kyoko in his arms. She seemed so frail, he had always thought she was strong, given that confident personality of hers, but at times like this he realized how frail and feminine she really was.

The drive to Kyoko's house was quiet, and when they got there, Taisho took over and put Kyoko in her room. The couple thanked Ren and Kanae, and soon the two got back in their car as Ren drove Kanae home.

"Ren?" He glanced at Kanae, who was in the passenger seat, looking out the window. She turned to him, rage in her eyes. "If it's the last thing I do in my life, I am going to kick that punk's ass."

Ren nodded.

"You and me both. No one gets away with hurting her like that." With this mutual agreement. They drove the rest of the way in silence.

3:05 A.M

The digital clock on Kyoko's night stand glared at her in the dark. How had she gotten home? She thought confused. She remembered crying. For a while. She remembered Sho. At the thought of him tears welled up in her eyes again. She suddenly noticed a note on her nightstand,

_Dear Kyoko-chan,_

_You remember we told you we had a short trip planned? We couldn't cancel at the last minute. We're sorry. But please rest and work hard alright? We should be back in two days._

_We love you._

_Okami-san_

Kyoko smiled a little. How could she think no one loved her, the Darumaya couple obviously did. Then Kyoko froze. There it was again.  _Someone was in the house._  Kyoko got up slowly and crept downstairs. She peeked around a corner and saw a couple of masked men destroying the Darumaya downstairs and taking everything valuable insight. Looking around she saw he had broken though a screened window. Suddenly, she heard the sound of clay shattering.

Kyoko looked back and saw with a start that they had broken a precious vase, given to Okami-san by her late mother. It was the most precious thing Okami-san owned, as it was a family heirloom. Kyoko was suddenly consumed by rage, causing her to blindly fly down the stairs and punched one of the men soundly in the face.

"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU BREAK OKAMI-SAN'S PRECIOUS VASE!"

Kyoko went to hit him again when another one of the men grabbed her wrist. He peered at her through his mask.

"Hmmm, your pretty cute." He fingered the strap of her camisole. "I wonder what we should do with you?" his breath smelled of alcohol as he leered at her. And suddenly, she was overcome by panic. She punched him square in the face and flew up the stairs to her room. Behind her she could hear the injured man roar.

"AFTER HER! AFTER THAT BITCH! I'LL KILL HER IF IT'S THE LAST THING I EVER DO!"

Then she heard their steps thundering on the upstairs floor of the house. They burst through the door to her room and stopped. Koko stood there in a camisole and shorts with a metal rod from her closet in her hands.

"Come any closer and I'll bash your head in!" she threatened in a wavering voice. The men snickered, mocking her threat.

"You hear that boys? She'll bash our heads in!" they roared with laughter as they advanced upon her. She waved the rod.

"I'm warning you, stay away from me!" She said, trying to intimidate them. They all charged at her. She let loose a blood curdling scream in a bid to confuse them and attempted to flee but was cornered by her open window that opened to the front driveway of the house.

One of the men grabbed and slammed her on the floor, face first. Blood ran unchecked down her face from the gash that resulted. They all grabbed at her body and clothes but she vaulted off the ground in a last ditch effort to get away. Then she staggered, and tripped

And fell out the open window.

"Shit!" she heard the men yell as she plummeted to the ground 15 feet below.

Then, she saw someone walk by on the sidewalk. She moaned in pain loud enough to get the person's attention. It was a midnight jogger. His jaw dropped at the sight of a beautiful woman, bloodied and in a heap on the driveway. He was so occupied with Kyoko that he didn't notice the men hop the fence behind the house and run away. After that all Kyoko remembered were ambulance and police sirens and pain. _Excruciating_  pain.

And then darkness. Blissful and painless darkness.

Ren got himself ready for bed and had just fallen asleep when his cellphone shrilly broke the silence. He picked up the phone blearily.

"Hel –"

"REN! Oh my god, Ren, are you awake?"Well he was now, he thought, bolting upright at the sound of Yashiro's panicked voice.

"Yashiro? What happened?!"

"Ren, its Kyoko. Someone broke into her house, she's at the hospital, someone found my business card in her purse and called me. There was a lot of blood, I don't know how bad it is. You  _need_  to get here."

But Ren didn't hear the last part, he was already out the door.


	6. Alone? With You?

Ren tore down the streets of central Tokyo in his Porsche, as he was mentally breaking down. Yashiro had called, not even 5 minutes ago, frantically going on about how Kyoko had been attacked. He had no idea how bad, but there was a lot of blood. _Blood_. He thought. _Kyoko_ ' _s blood. If only I had stayed._  He thought anguished.  _I could have protected her._  His hands clenched the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were turning white. He was furious as well as worried. The bastards who had hurt his Kyoko were going to pay dearly. He stopped. When had she become his Kyoko? He thought,  _since the day I first laid eyes on her_ , he had known since then, that she would be the only woman he would or could ever truly love. He remembered what she had said to him once.

"Tsuruga-san, you are lucky you've never truly loved, because love? Yeah love hurts." With that she had walked away. But Ren had figured out at that moment, why it hurt so much to look at her, to be near her, to even think about her. It was because he loved her but he could never have her.

It was with these melancholy thoughts that Ren screeched into the hospital parking lot and stepped out into a full melee. He was being swarmed by the paparazzi he realized and mentally cursed himself for being so careless and letting himself be tailed. He tuned in to the shouts of the reporters.

"Tsuruga-san! Tsuruga-san! Why are you at Tokyo Central Hospital at 5 AM in the morning? Is it a girlfriend?" The reporters waved their mikes in his face and the camera men jostled about trying to get a better angle of him. Ren realized he was wearing black sweatpants and a t-shirt. He mentally cringed,  _so much for my sophisticated look_.He schooled his features into his characteristic smile and answered them.

"It seems a co-worker of mine has had an...injury, the exact nature of which even I'm not sure. I'm here to assess the situation." Again a barrage of questions.

"Is it a woman?"

"Your girlfriend, perhaps?"

"What happened?"

"Who is it?"

Ren smiled again, this time it was one of barely masked annoyance. He then said the words every reporter dreads.

"No comment." And he swept into the hospital. The team of hospital security guards formed a barrier to keep the reporters from following him.

Ren walked inside looking for some sign that would lead him to Kyoko. As usual he was oblivious to every woman in the room, who were practically fainting from the pheromones he exuded. Then he saw Yashiro jogging down the hallway towards him.

"Ren oh thank the lords!" the manager cried in relief. In an answer to Ren's unvoiced question he said. "Come this way. Though the wounds looked serious and bled a lot. They weren't that severe. So in that respect Kyoko is fine." Yashiro trailed off. Ren looked at him sensing a catch.

"But what?" Yashiro rolled his eyes.

"We have a bit of a ...problem. When you see her you'll understand what I mean." As they went farther down the hall, Ren could hear a sound. As they walked closer, the sound could be identified as shrieking. They finally stopped at a door which seemed to be the source of the shrieking. Ren peeked in from the door.

Inside he could see Kyoko. His throat tightened as he saw the bandages covering her head and parts of her face as well as the slight cast on her wrist. At the moment she was shrieking and struggling in Kanae's arms as an exasperated nurse tried again and again to give Kyoko an injection. He looked at Yashiro, bemused, partly from relief that she wasn't too badly injured and partly as a reaction of how comical the situation was. The woman who was so professional and able to withstand any pain, was afraid of a needle. Yashiro looked at him, rolled his eyes again and said.

"I don't care what you do, seduce her or something, but get her to calm down long enough for the nurse to give the injection." With that he pushed Ren inside. The nurse immediately noticed him and swooned. He looked at Kyoko; she had not noticed him yet. Probably because her eyes were closed and she was still shrieking. Kanae had noticed him and was trying to tell Kyoko but she was...occupied. Ren decided to make his presence known. He cleared his throat loudly. Kyoko froze, she turned to see Ren in the doorway, hands in his sweatpants pockets.

"Good morning Mogami-san." He said, giving her a once over, now that he could see her properly. Kyoko cringed under his gaze and relied back.

"G-g-good morning, Tsuruga-san." She noticed his gaze linger at her wrist and subtly covered it up under the bed covers. "What brings you here?" she said with false cheeriness. Ren raised his eyebrows. "Well, I was coming to just check-up on you. Then I heard that unholy shrieking of yours. I think it's safe to assume you are afraid of needles?" Kyoko smile faded and was replaced with big teary puppy dog eyes.

"Waaaaah! I know it's silly, but I really am afraid! It's so POINTY!" while Kyoko was explaining to Ren her fear of needles, the nurse and Kanae took advantage of her guard being down and pounced on her arm. Kanae grabbed her arm while the nurse administered the medicine. Kyoko eye's watered after she was done and Kanae whacked Kyoko on the shoulder

"Sheesh, you'd think I was trying to kill you or something, the way you started screaming. Anyways, you wait here, (well it's not like you can go anywhere.) Glasses-kun and I will get your breakfast." Kanae walked with an indignant Yashiro trailing after crying.

"Hey I resent being called Glasses –kun!"

"What? You wear glass, hence Glasses –kun. Its normal, now stop being a pansy and come  _on_!"

With that they were out of sight and out of earshot. Ren walked over to Kyoko's bed and sat down on the edge.

"So Mogami-san, why don't you tell me what happened?"

Kyoko fiddled with the bed sheet, not meeting his eyes. Ren sighed, "Why won't you tell me?" Ren heard her whisper something inaudible. He leaned forward to catch it.

" _You'll think I'm an idiot."_  Ren was confused but leaned forward and raised her face so that it was level with his.

"I will not Kyoko I am worried about you and the press will chase after you until they get a story. We also have a shoot today at 11AM. Don't you think we should have the story straight?" Kyoko looked puzzled.

"Why would the press care?" She asked genuinely puzzled. Ren stared at her.

"Kyoko, you're somewhat  _famous_  you know. You're Mio and Natsu and now Fumino. Not to mention you're working with Shingai and Ogata." Kyoko realized he was right. She took a deep breath.

"I..Well..I already explained this to everyone, basically after you dropped me off, Okami-san and Taisho had a vacation planned, they were going to meet up with some old friends so they left at about 11pm- "

"Wait you were left alone? Why didn't you call me or Kanae?"

"Tsuruga-san, I was asleep. I couldn't tell you even if I had wanted to. Besides, I'd like to think I can take care of myself." Ren raised his eyebrows indicating her current situation and Kyoko flushed.

"This doesn't count, just listen. After that I went to sleep and woke up at about 3AM. I heard a noise downstairs and went to check it out –" Ren interrupted again.

"Why on EARTH would you go downstairs Mogami-san? What if something had happened?"

"Well I was more concerned that someone was in my house. Make no mistake, if it had been one guy, I would've decked him without breaking a sweat. But as my rotten luck would have it, there were at least 3." Ren's eyes bugged out .

"You took on all three? What in the world were you thinking?"

"Tsuruga-san, it's not as if I went downstairs looking for a fight. I just kinda lost it when they broke one of Okami-sans heirloom vases." She said the last line sheepishly.

"And then what?" Ren said exasperated, it was like she didn't even  _try_  to prevent situations.

"Well the leader, (I think that's what he was), tried to grab me and I ran upstairs into my room. They cornered me there and one of them grabbed my hair and flung me to the floor." Ren's eyes narrowed dangerously as she continued.

"After that I threw them off and then," She grimaced. " I tripped on the rug and fell out the open window."

"What?" Ren got up and began pacing. He was furious.  _Heaven help the bastards if he ever got his hands on them._

"After that a jogger saw me and called 911"

"What about the burglars?"

"Long gone by the time the police arrived. Although they thoroughly trashed the place before they left." Kyoko scowled thinking about the broken dishes, dented walls, doors hanging off the hinges and most infuriating of all, Okami-san's broken vase.

Ren was still pacing and decided to sit down. He bent his head so Kyoko couldn't see his face.

"If only I had been there, I could've done something."

"Tsuruga-san-"

"I'm the worst. I just drove away without checking that you were safe! I didn't even call to make sure!"

"Tsuruga-"

"I mean what kind of senpai leaves his kouhai defenceless?"

"Tsu-"

"I could have protected you – "

"REN!"

Ren jumped, startled by the use of his first name and the feel of Kyoko's fingers on his lips. She leaned forward and put her hands on his face. Ren's heart thudded in his chest, his eyes wide. Kyoko smiled at him and rested her head against his forehead.

"I'm glad you're worried for my sake, it makes me happy. But I'm a big girl. I don't need to be protected, it's enough that you worried for me Tsuruga-san." She reverted back to using his last name and began to pull away. Ren grabbed her hands, her eyes widened as her gaze went from her hands to his eyes.

"Tsuruga-" she began to say.

"Not Tsuruga-san, Ren. Call me Ren." He said gently. Kyoko was genuinely surprised by the heat that rushed to her face and her racing heart.  _Uwaaaah he's so close!_  She could see his lashes, his intense black eyes and his soft lips.  _Wait his lips? Why am I thinking about his lips? What a disrespectful kouhai I am!_

"Kyoko?" She snapped back and realized that she had been staring at him. "S-sorry you had to be worried about me R-Ren. But if I have to call you Ren, then you have to call me K-Kyoko." She finished, her face red. Ren laughed.

"That's alright, if it's you,  _Kyoko_. Then it doesn't matter. You're  _very_  important to me. " he trailed off and looked pensive. "Kyoko, when are you being discharged?" She looked at him confused about why he would want to know. "about 7 pm. Why?" he got up and said.

"Alright. I'll pick you up. The Darum-ya couple are going to call again. something urgent came up and they won't be coming back for at least week. So you will stay with me." He said decisively. Kyoko stared at him.

"St-stay at your apartment? Alone? With you?" Ren looked at her and smirked.

"Kyoko really. It's not such a big issue. Besides, why would I  _do_ anything?" Kyoko's mouth fell open. She snapped it shut and glared indignantly and picked up a pillow. She waved it at him threateningly.

"OUT, vile fiend!" She threw it in his direction. He ducked and the pillow smacked harmlessly against the wall. Ren got up and laughed. He walked over and patted her head like you would a dog.

"It's alright Kyoko, maybe you'll have better luck in about...100 years." He ran out the door as Kyoko screeched indignant insults and ran laughing out the door.

"I will get you, Tsuruga Ren! Mark my words, I will get you!"

Ren caught up with Yashiro, who looked him over laughing.

"Don't you know its bad ethics to tease an injured co-worker?" They laughed some more as Kyoko nearly hit Kanae with a pillow thinking it was Ren.

"Mo! What are you  _doing_!"

"Gomen! Sorry Moko-san, sorry!"

Yashiro and Ren walked down the hallway. Ren decided that he needed to stock up on supplies, if he was going to have Kyoko stay with him. He quickly scribbled a long list of supplies and handed it to Yashiro.

"I want these all at my apartment by 6pm." Yashiro took it and scanned it. He looked at Ren incredulously.

"Women's apparel?  _FOOD?_  What? Female  _hygiene_ products _?_!" Ren clapped a hand over Yashiro's mouth.

" _Quiet_!" he hissed. "Tell the entire world why don't you? Kyoko is staying at my house for the week. These things are necessary since the couple aren't coming back for a week and her house is closed for investigation." Yashiro grinned as Ren removed his hand.

" _Kyoko_? Not  _Mogami-san?_ " Yashiro mimicked Ren's voice. Ren rolled his eyes.

"Just shut up and get the stuff." Yashiro smirked, nodded and jogged off to get the things.

...

_6:30_

Kyoko's eyes went again and again to the clock in her hospital room. _Where is Ren?_  She wondered why she was so impatient and that fact that he was late was worrying her.  _He's a 6'4 guy,_ she chided herself.  _He can take care of himself._ The door opened and Kyoko swung around, hoping it was Ren. The nurse was startled at the fastness of Kyoko's turn. She stammered out an apology as Kyoko seemed to be irritated.

"S-sorry Ms. I just came to tell you that a couple visitors have come to see you." She stepped to the side as President Lory, Maria, Shingai, Ogata and Kinnji strolled in. They all had gifts for her. Maria gave her a large voodoo doll of Fuwa Sho to Kyoko's malicious delight. Lory gave her a bunch of clothes since he had heard from Yashiro that she was going to stay at Ren's apartment. Then Shingai and Ogata gave her chocolates since they heard that she liked them. Last, Kinnji stepped forward with a gigantic bouquet of roses. He bent and kissed her forehead.

"We're glad you're alright Kyoko-chan." He kissed her forehead again. Then someone cleared their throat loudly from the door way. They all turned to see Ren standing there with an extremely annoyed look on his face. Lory laughed.

"Now, Ren. That was friendly. Remember?" Ren rolled his eyes. " I  _know_. "

Lory turned to Kyoko,

"Don't worry Kyoko-chan. I'm personally overlooking the repairs of your house, and i am going to find those men, even if it's the last thing i do. I released a statement to the press a little over 3 hours ago. So beware of the paparazzi on your way to Ren's apartment alright?"

"What?" Kanae walked into the room with a bag of clothes for Kyoko. She turned to face Ren.

"Kyoko is staying at Ren's house?" She had a thunderous look on her face. Ren didn't normally flinch under the glares of people. But this was different. This was  _Kanae_ , he had to get on this girl's good side if he wanted to get anywhere with Kyoko,  _ever_. Right now however, things were not going well. He cleared his throat somewhat nervously.

"Uhm, I offered Kyoko a place to stay until she gets the repairs done in her house."

Kanae pinned him with a piercing look. She looked at Kyoko and was surprised to find the girl staring at her with tearful eyes.

"Moko-san, wasn't it nice of Ren to offer me a place to stay?" Everyone in the room did a double take.

"Ren?" they all whispered among themselves. Ren, with an uncharacteristic blush walked briskly forward. He put a pile of forms in front of her.

"Sign these and they'll let you go Kyoko. Then we need to get to the apartment we both need our sleep. We have a shoot that's been moved to tomorrow right?" The last part was directed towards the directors. They nodded.

"Tomorrow at 11 o clock is the first shoot. The shoot in total will last until 7pm." Kyoko nodded.

Kanae sighed.

"Fine. Just because everyone is okay with it, I'll let you go. But i don't like it." She said with emphasis as Kyoko latched onto her, blubbering her thanks. Kanae untangled herself from Kyoko and they left as the nurse ushered them out as visiting hours ended.

...

"Now Kyoko," Ren said, as he turned the lights on in his penthouse apartment. "You can put your things into the guest room, which also has its own bathroom, and i took the liberty of buying you some clothes and general outfits since everything you have is currently in the Darum-ya."

Kyoko looked around in awe since she hadn't been here in a while it seemed to be even grander then before. She dragged her things into the guest room and decided to open an unopened box in Lory's present to her. It was from a store that was famous for its nightwear. She opened it and emitted a small squeak and dropped the box. Ren was quick to run to her door.

"What is it Kyoko?" He said concerned. She held up a small lingerie type top and underwear that said his name. They both turned red.

"Who gave you that Kyoko?" He asked her while pointedly not looking at the offending piece of clothing.

"P-president-san" Kyoko said stuttering and blushing bright red. Ren cursed the old man in his mind.  _I'm going to kill that old man!_  He ran a hand over his face and walked into her room. He took the clothes from her hands and gave her a bag of clothing that he had bought her.

"This is for you. I had Yashiro's sister buy them. " He picked up the box and was about to chuck them in the garbage when Kyoko grabbed his arm.

"Kyoko?"

Without looking at him, she said.

"I'll give them back to President-san." She took the box from his hands. He sighed.

"Alright." He walked back to the door. "Well, everything you need is here, including the pain medication. I am going to sleep, you should as well, we have a shoot tomorrow so rest up alright?" Kyoko got up and bowed.

"Thank you very much for letting me stay here, Ren! I'll cook dinner and make bentos to pay for my lodging!" Ren grasped her shoulders.

"Kyoko it's nothing. I'm happy you're here. And you don't have to cook anything. "

"Oh but I want to! Really!" Ren smiled. He walked out.

"Good night Kyoko."

"Good night Ren." He walked out and closed the door.

...

Kyoko tossed and turned in her sleep. In her minds eye she still saw the face of the drunk man from the attack.

" _Hmm what should I do with you?"_  his face leered in her mind and she could still faintly smell his alcohol scented breath. She saw herself surrounded by the men again, all of them reached for her and she screamed and shot straight up in bed.

She looked around panting. It was dark; the digital clock in the room read 11pm. She had only been asleep two hours. The dark shadows in her room seemed to jump and leer at her. Kyoko clutched her blanket to her chest. She felt cold in her tank top and silk pajamas. Against her better judgement, she gathered her nightgown to her chest and walked towards Ren's room before she could change her mind. She opened his door. Ren sat up and squinted to see who it was.

"R-Ren?" Ren was speechless.  _Kyoko? In my room?_  He attempted to make his voice sound like he wasn't nervous and that he hadn't just been thinking about how she was in the room next door.

"Kyoko? What's wrong?" She walked towards him.

"Ren, i still see them in my mind." Ren reached out and clasped her cold arm.

"Them? Them who?"

"The guys that attacked me..." she whimpered quietly. Ren's temper flared as did his sense of protectiveness towards her. He pulled her towards him and sat fully up. She clutched at him. Ren thought how out of character this was. Normally she would've tried to deal with it herself. He thought maybe she'd become so accustomed with him that she didn't think anything of trusting him with her fears. He smiled into her hair and whispered into her ear.

"Kyoko, would you rather sleep in my bed?" She looked up at him shocked. He was quick to reassure her.

"I just mean sleep next to me. Often it makes you feel better to sleep with someone after a nightmare." She looked at him for a minute and then nodded, her cheeks red. She climbed over him and lay down next to him. Within minutes she was asleep, arms unconsciously grabbing his shirt and snuggling into him. Ren lay rigid for a while then relaxed.  _It's alright, I have no ulterior motive so that makes_ _ **this**_ _completely fine._  He wrapped his arms around and clutched her to his chest and fell asleep as well.

 


	7. Oh Dear Lord

Sunlight filtered though the drapes in Ren's bedroom, shining great yellow streaks on the master bed. Upon the bed lay two people. One was a young man, in his twenties, with raven hair, tall, lean and had a muscular body. The other was a small, petite, blond haired young woman in her teens. Both of them were sprawled across the bed. Kyoko lay with her head nestled against Ren's chest and Ren himself had both arms wrapped around her as if he feared she would leave him. Neither of them was awake yet.

Kyoko turned in bed. She felt an arm pull her towards the warm entity that she was snuggled against.  _Wait,_ _ **against**_ _? I didn't go to sleep with anyone... Right? I'm too young for that! Oh. My. God. WHAT IF I'M PREGNANT? WAIT...wait...waaait...calm down...there's no way that's even possible._  She cracked an eye open. The first thing she saw, aside from the blinding sunlight, was Ren's sleeping face. Her eyes widened.  _R-Ren? Why am I here? Why am I in his bed more importantly?_  Kyoko thought back to yesterday, she remembered the fight, the hospital.  _Aha-ha! I remember now, I'm staying with Ren until the Darum-ya couple return. What time is it?_ She leaned over Ren to peek at the digital clock.

7:00 AM

_Hmm just enough time to make breakfast – wait is that my cell phone?_  Kyoko strained her ears, and realized that it was indeed her cell phone ringing insistently in the guest room. She gently unwrapped Ren's arms from around her and climbed over him. She padded silently to the guest room and closed the door behind her. She dove for the phone that was in her hand bag.

"Hello?" Her voice was still quite raspy from just waking up.

"Kyoko-chan?" Kyoko's eyes widened in delight.

"Okami-san!"

"Oh dear we are so sorry we can't come home. They've shut down air travel for at least a month. There's been a massive accident at the airport, no planes are flying. The nearest booking in the next city is after a month. Where are you staying? Will you be able to manage? We can wire you money if you need it." Kyoko was taken aback.

"I have to stay with Ren for a month?" She stared at the phone.

"What?" Taisho took the phone from his wife's hand.

"You are staying in a man's house? I demand to speak to him immediately."

"Hai Taisho." Kyoko said meekly and walked quietly back into Ren's room. He was still asleep but now he looked so lonely. His face had a small frown as if something was missing but he couldn't put his finger on it. She got on her knees to reduce the sound of the floors creaking. She crawled up to Ren and whispered in his ear.

" _Ren...Ren, wake up. Reeeeeeeen."_

"Mmmmnnnngh." Ren groaned and turned, grabbing Kyoko in the process and pinning her under him. Kyoko squeaked and dropped her cell phone.

"Kyoko? Kyoko, what happened?" came Taisho's tinny voice from the cell. Kyoko strained to pick it up but couldn't reach it. She blushed as she felt his body press against hers. Then she heard him whisper her name.

"Kyoko..." Her eyes widened. She couldn't tell if he was awake or not. She decided if she stayed put any longer, Taisho would probably call in the army just to find out if she was alive. She giggled thinking of how awkward the situation would be if they found her like this. Then she fully realized the enormity of the situation. Ren, as in  _Tsuruga_  Ren, was on  _ **top**_  of her. She was only wearing a tank top and silk pyjamas, and he was wearing silk pyjamas and black shirt, so it wasn't like this was inappropriate but  _still_. She had to get out. Not only could she die underneath the weight of a full grown man, (and she firmly believed this), she also knew that Yashiro came to get Ren in the morning and that he had a spare key, with which he let himself in each morning and if he found them like this...all hell would break loose.

"Ren?"

_Oh great,_  thought Kyoko,  _and_   _here comes Yashiro and there opens the gates of hell._  She braced herself as he peered into Ren's room. Yashiro looked in and almost choked on his morning nutri-bar.  _Ren was on TOP of Kyoko._  He stared into the room again to make sure his eyes were not deceiving him. Sure enough, there was Ren clad in a black v-necked shirt, and black silk pyjamas, he had the slight framed young woman pinned underneath him. He looked into Kyoko's mortified face and mouthed

_Kyoko?_  She turned seven different shades of red and answered

_Taisho is on the phone, he wants to talk to Ren...will you talk to him?_  Yashiro grinned. He opened his briefcase and pulled out a pair of latex gloves. He picked up the phone and closed the bedroom door quietly.

"Hello?"

"Kyoko? I've been calling your name for the last 10 minutes – "

"Ah sorry, this is not Kyoko, my name is Yashiro."

"Yoshiko? Are you the man Kyoko is staying with?"

"Uhm no sir, I am Ren's manager,  _Yashiro_." Yashiro said nervously, if he handled this wrong, Kyoko would be sent packing to Kanae's house.

"Ren? Tsuruga Ren? She's staying at Tsuruga Ren's house?" Taisho's voice sounded taken aback. Yashiro crossed his fingers. He didn't sense any hostility from him yet.

"Yes sir. He offered a place to stay, since they work together and he often drives her to her various appointments." Taisho's voice came back even gruffer than before.  _Scratch that_ , thought Yashiro,  _he sounds_ _ **very**_ _hostile._

"Why is he running around like a pack mule? Why doesn't he just hire someone to drive Kyoko?" Yashiro's heart sank. This was not good.

"Uh well... sir..."

"What 'uh well sir'? What are his intentions? That girl is under our protection mind you. Where is Kyoko? And I want to speak to Tsuruga-san. Quickly manager, I have  _not_ got all day." Yashiro could only reply with a

"Yes sir, right away sir."

_What else could he do?_ The man _commanded_  obedience. He set the phone on mute and decided to be mean and wake Ren up the most annoying way possible, since he had to go through the trouble of talking to Taisho, he felt it was only fair. He burst into Ren's room.

"REEEEEEEEN WAKE UP!" He turned Ren's radio up all the way and watched in satisfaction as Ren tumbled from the bed and sat disorientated by the fall. Yashiro's revenge was short-lived as he received the full wrath of Ren's Demon Lord look that promised trouble later.

"What  **are**  you doing?" Yashiro hastily backed up, shrinking under his glare.

"Hey, I only did it to get you off of Kyoko-chan!" Kyoko let out a frustrated growl. She had almost made it off the bed and out the room unnoticed, she sat back down grumpily. Her cheeks colored red as Ren looked at Yashiro confused.

"Off of Kyoko? What..." His face blanched. "Please tell me I did not..." Yashiro smirked.

"Unfortunately you did. And to make things worse, Kyoko's Taisho-san wants to talk to you." Ren got even paler and picked up Kyoko's cell phone from his manager's hand. He lifted the phone to his ear.

"Good morning Taisho-san."

"What do you mean,  _get off Kyoko-chan?_ " Taisho's voice was dangerously low. Ren gulped and replied.

"Um sir I think you misheard-" He was cut off.

"Young fool, do not even try that, 'you misheard' bah! Now listen here closely, boy..."

Ren listened intently, made small noises of agreement, promised him something profusely much to Kyoko and Yashiro's curiosity, and bade the older man goodbye. As he hung up the phone he glared at Yashiro again.

"What?" said Yashiro nervously.

"You forgot to turn the phone on mute."

"What? No, I did turn it on!" Yashiro protested. Ren rolled his eyes. He picked up his towel from a rack in front of the bathroom door.

"In any case, I'm going to take a shower" He slammed the door behind him. Yashiro sighed and looked back at Kyoko whose eyes were filling with tears.

"Kyoko what's the matter?" he asked alarmed. Kyoko threw herself on the ground in front of him.

"Gomen! Yashiro-san I'm A HORIBBLE, DESPICABLE, FILTHY EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING! I MADE TSURUGA-SAN GET EMBARRASED BY HAVING TO ANSWER TO ! HE HATES ME DOESN'T HE? UWAAAAAAAH!" she grovelled on the ground. Yashiro laughed.

"It's alright Kyoko; I think he's just embarrassed. You didn't do anything worth apologizing for." He helped Kyoko up. "In any case, Kanae has asked you to call her, she will be coming to the shoot and threatened that if you didn't, she would gatecrash Ren's house. What?" Yashiro said in response to the small frown on Kyoko's face.

"I've wanted to ask you for a while, why do you call Moko-san, Kanae? Do you know her well?" she asked.

"Know her well?" Yashiro thought back.

[flashback]

*in Ren's dressing room after the beach photo shoot*

_Knock Knock._

_Ren and Yashiro exchanged a look. No one often came knocking on his door; they preferred to wait for him to arrive on set. Yashiro opened the door to reveal Kanae. Ren was surprised to see her, of all people, at his door. He barely knew her, all he knew was that he had to get on her good side; otherwise his dream of confessing to Kyoko would remain a dream_

" _Kotonami-san. Welcome." Ren inclined his head slightly in a polite nod. Kanae looked at him; stepped in and shut the door behind her. She turned and faced him._

" _So Tsuruga-san, how about we skip the formalities?" Ren stared at her, he knew she was blunt, but he wasn't expecting this at all._

" _Um, what would you mean by that?" he asked cautiously. She walked over to him and looked him squarely in the eyes._

" _Ren, we both know that you're in love with Kyoko." Yashiro choked on his rice ball in the background. Kanae ignored him."The question is, what are you gonna do about it?" Ren's eyes widened slightly._

" _I .umm...what...that..." He sputtered, trying to develop a coherent sentence. Kanae rolled her eyes at Yashiro._

" _Look you, the entire world can see that you are madly in_ _ **love**_ _with her." Kanae said the word love like it was a disease. "I just came here to tell you that I don't trust you. The President told me that your girlfriends number more than your age. Kyoko better not become just another number. With what Fuwa did to her...you don't know exactly what he did? Eh you'll find out soon enough. Back to the point, I care for Kyoko a lot. (Of course I will deny I ever said that if you quote me). This drama is a romance, and it's a series that ends in marriage...so are you going to make a damn move or not?" Kanae finished her rant and looked at him expectantly._

_Ren thought for a minute, ignoring for the moment that the President had talked to Kanae about such matters..._ **I'll deal with him later.**

" _Kotonami-san, those previous relationships were all begun and ended by my girlfriends. According to the President, Kyoko is my first true love." Kanae stared at him incredulously. He was_ **blushing** _! She motioned for him to continue, her face suspiciously devoid of emotion._

" _I will care for and love Kyoko all my life. That I promise you, Kotonami-san-" Kanae held up her hand._

" _Kanae. The first step with Kyoko is to get on a first name basis with her. If she sees us doing it she won't mind when you approach her about it. You call me by my first name and I'll call you by yours, same goes for you glasses-kun." Yashiro sputtered at the indecency of the name but thought better of it under Kanae's glare._

" _Very well." Ren agreed. Kanae nodded and walked to the door._

" _Good, however this doesn't mean I fully accept you." She looked at both of them._

" _I'm watching you." With that she swept out and shut the door. Then they heard loud giggles coming from outside the room._

" _First love huh...this shall be interesting..."_

_[End of flashback]_

"Let's just say it was a mutual agreement" Yashiro said dryly. Kyoko accepted this explanation and got up, making her way to the kitchen. Yashiro heard rushing water and the chinking of plates as Kyoko called out to him.

"Yashiro-san, it's only technology you're horrible with right?" she asked without glancing back even once.

"Well yes, but Kyoko-chan, you really shouldn't be doing anything with that wrist. It's a miracle you can even act with it. "

"Great, set the table please." Said Kyoko, ignoring his comment, Yashiro sighed and complied. Kyoko piled all the food dishes on her hands and arms and placed them on the table.

"What is taking Ren so long?" She wondered aloud, glancing towards his bed room. Yashiro already had his mouth full, so he just shrugged. She giggled and patted him on the head

"Keep eating Yashiro-san, I'll go call Ren." With that she strode purposefully into his room. Kyoko walked to wards the bathroom door and was about to rap her knuckles against it, when the white wood of the door disappeared, only to be replaced by a towering, soaking wet body. Kyoko stumbled back in her haste and fell flat on her back. Ren moved forward to help her, when he realized she was pointedly staring at the ground, and with a start he realized that the only thing covering him was the towel that was wrapped around his waist.

Meanwhile at the table Yashiro wondered what was taking Kyoko so long, so he leaned back on two legs of the chair to peer into the master bedroom. He nearly choked on his spoon when he saw Kyoko on the floor on her back propped up only by her hands and a soaking wet Ren clad in a towel, reaching his hand out to her. Yashiro bolted from her and into the room knocking his chair over in the process.

"Uh, Kyoko-chan, Ren will be out in a minute, why don't you start eating?" He pushed her out of the room and shut the door. He leaned against the door after he shut it and sighed wearily.

"Ren, when I said  _get her to fall in love with you_ , I did  **not** mean for you to seduce her naked!" Yashiro stopped mid-rant, Ren wasn't listening he realized.

In his mind's eye Ren replayed the image of Kyoko's face. She had looked at his face and body in a look that could only be described as awe and desire? He thought, the only other emotion on her face was slight fear, this he chalked up to her finally realizing and becoming aware that he was, in fact, a man. He blinked as he realized that Yashiro was now ranting about his lack of attention to others. Ren smirked, remembering Kyoko's face again and patted Yashiro absently on the head, just like Kyoko.

"I'm going to put some clothes on, go eat with Kyoko. Go make sure she's alright." He grinned as if remembering an inappropriate joke and disappeared into his closet.

Yashiro sighed. As much as he wanted Ren to get together with Kyoko, he couldn`t afford how reckless Ren was getting. He walked out of the bedroom to find Kyoko eating her breakfast almost mechanically.

_Time for some damage control,_ thought Yashiro as he checked his watch,

9:20AM  _Damn, we're running late._

He leaned forward to peer into Kyoko's face and was astonished to see, for the first time, a blush caused by a man.

"Kyoko-chan, are you alright?" She raised her eyes hesitantly to meet his.

"Um, Yashiro-san," She seemed to struggle to articulate her question. "Are all men like...well, are they all like Ren?" Her question caught Yashiro off guard as he it dawned on him that Kyoko had finally become aware of Ren as a man. He thought for a second.

"Well, Kyoko-chan, somewhat yes, but remember this  _is_  Ren we're talking about. He's a different type of man altogether." Kyoko nodded in agreement and then frowned.

"But do all men exude that raw  _power_  that Ren does? The one that makes your knees go weak? The look on his face made me think I would be eaten alive. If men are not like him, then it's no wonder Ren is considered a co-star killer."

Yashiro snorted into his food as they heard a loud bang from the master bedroom.  _So Ren_ _ **is**_ _listening_ , thought Yashiro as he hid a smile behind his hand. With some difficulty Ren came out, and seated himself at the table, Yashiro observed the silence between the two with some amusement but then took pity and decided to pull them back to their senses. He reached for two copies of the new script for the second episode of  _ **Faster Than a Kiss.**_

"Here, this is the script for the second and Kyoko get dressed, we should leave soon."

*2 hours later*

"Okay," called director Ogata and Shingai from their director's chair. "Everyone in position for the first act of episode 2, take 1..aaannd ACTION!" Kyoko closed her eyes and slowly let Fumino take over.

_**[voice over lay: After losing the place we can belong we've always been looking for a place where these tired and road weary legs can land on]** _

**Fumino walked in the hallway behind a particularly obnoxious guy. He was shooting his mouth off to everyone, and he was getting irritating. Then he shoved a small girl out of his way.**

" **MOVE IT YOU FAT PIG!" Fumino rolled her eyes stepped up and slammed his head into a wall so hard the wall cracked.**

" **You move it, and don't call a girl fat you unpleasant idiot." The guy got up and tottered away, fuming.**

_**[Voice overlay: I'm second year, class C in Kumaneko high school, Kaji Fumino. A 16 year old girl who carries out her own justice, even if it gets her labelled as a violent person.]** _

**The same guy then bumps into Ojiro-sensei.**

" **Ah, seriously! YOU'RE IN MY WA YOU GLASSES!" Sensei runs over to Fumino.**

" **Kaji-san did you hear that! He called me glasses! Please scold him!" The bully flinched. Fumino was too wrapped with sensei to notice.**

" **You do have glasses! Besides whats with you? A teacher crying to his student?" Sensei grins.**

" **I couldn't help it," he said a gleam in his eyes while giving her a thumbs up. "Kaji-san was being so cool." Rolling her eyes, she sent the cowardly bully away while she yelled at Sensei more.**

_**[voice overlay: this is my homeroom teacher, Ojiro Kazuma, a somewhat plain English teacher, 24 years old. And for opposite people like us, there is a secret]** _

"CUT!" yelled the directors, everyone move to scene 2, MOVE IT!" Kyoko-smiled at Ren, while on her way to her dressing room, telling him with her eyes that she thought his acting had been wonderful and ran to get her next outfit on. She eyed the thing with distaste.  _It looks like something I would've worn for Sho when I was an idiot and in love with him._  She shook her head and told herself sternly to put these thoughts out of her mind. She ran back on set.

**The door of Ojiro's apartment opens, inside Fumino and Teppei were dressed once again in the young wife costume. This time, a sweater that bared her shoulders and a heart apron with a short skirt and horizontally striped leggings. Fumino says through clenched teeth, her face crimson in embarrassment.**

" **Welcome home darling! Do you want dinner? Or a bath? Or..." Teppei smiles and adds,**

" **Or do you want Teppei!" He jumps into Sensei's arm, who hugs him.**

" **OOOOOOH! I WANT TEPPEI-KUN!" Fumino stood up and yelled at him.**

" **Hey! Why are these skirts getting shorter everyday?"**

" **Ah-ah Fumino-san, Wife cosplay=dinner." Fumino gritted her teeth and stalked away, having already set the plate for dinner. Later that night, Fumino packed her things for tomorrow's day of school, she saw the dictionary that Sensei had given her for English and went to go thank him. She peered into his room to see him writing out the lesson plan for the next day, with earphones on listening to some English audio tapes.**

" **Hmm? Fumino-san? What is it?" He said as he noticed her in the doorway. She crawled over to peer into his notebook and laptop.**

" **Wow, you work hard," She commented. Sensei laughed.**

" **Well, it's not easy," Fumino smiled.** _ **He works so hard. He really is good man.**_

" **Well thanks for the dictionary. I'll work just like you every day." She noticed him smile lovingly at her and flushed red. She hastily got up.**

" **I'll make some tea for you, so just hold on."**

" **No. No." He grabbed her hand before she could leave and kissed it.**

" **That smile just now was more than enough." She walked back in a daze to her room.**

_**[voice overlay: its already been one month since we've started this "marriage lifestyle" and yet... we do not do married couple routines ! We haven't even kissed yet and we sleep in different rooms!]** _

"Stop!" The directors called. "Last scene before lunch, lets do this one perfectly guys! Moving to the outdoor set now!" Kyoko walked to the set with Ren, back in her uniform and him in his dress shirt and tie. This time Kinnji showed up. He grinned at Ren and handed him a wooden bat.

"Take it, it's your murder weapon." He winked at Ren, laughter in his eyes for the lines in the next scene. He was wearing a black shirt and sweatpants, the attire of a kindergarten teacher Ren toyed with it in his hands and pretended to hit him. Kyoko giggled.

"Well, its closest I'll ever come to actually beating you up, so its good enough." He grinned, sharing a friendly moment with Kinnji. Kyoko looked at them.

"You guys really are good friends aren't you?" They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"I guess it's true," Kinnji said laughing.

"Yeah," Ren agreed, Kyoko looked at them confused. Kinnji decided to explain.

"Actually Kyoko,-chan, when Ren and I met for the first time, we disliked each other so much that we scared the rest of the co-stars." Kyoko's eyes grew large.

"Ehh? Ren actually didn't like you? What's not to like?" Kinnji laughed.

"My sentiments exactly Kyoko-chan." Ren narrowed his eyes at them.

"Hey, you're making it sound like it was my fault. Who was the one running around pranking people and scaring the living daylights out of them? Oh that's right, YOU!" Kyoko was astonished to see Ren acting like an actual guy with Kinnji. She realized that aside from Yashiro, Kinnji was his only other friend in showbiz.

"So why did you guys dislike each other?" She asked. Kinnji rolled his eyes.

"Because Ren was too much of a prude and couldn't appreciate a good joke or prank." Ren smiled dryly

"If I recall that whoopee cushion prank of yours nearly destroyed my career. I spent weeks trying to rebuild my reputation." Kyoko snorted, and then began to laugh so much she began to cry much to the surprise of her co-stars. She kept trying to imagine the situation of Ren and whoopee cushion. The more she imagined, the more she laughed. She held her hand out for a high five from Kinnji.

"Well done!" She laughed at Ren and patted him on the arm, momentarily forgetting her scare from that morning. "How I wish I could've seen that!" They reached the set and waited for the directors to yell action

"ANNNND.. ACTION!"

" **Morning!" chirped Ryu.**

_**[Voice overlay: this is sensei's best friend from high school, Shindo Ryu; he's going to help us keep our marriage a secret and works at Teppei's kindergarten]** _

" **You guys are so dazzling A high school girl and an obscene teacher!" He ducked out of the way and grabbed Teppei, making for the kindergarten and running away from Sensei who was chased after Ryu yelling with a base ball bat.**

" **You're so VULGAR!"**

***that day after school at the kindergarten***

" **Buncha look!" Teppei smiled at Fumino happily sporting an origami hat. "A warrior's helmet!" Fumino bent down to his level and examined it.**

" **Ooh! You are good at this!" She looked up at Ryu as he fixed Teppei's backpack.**

" **Hey, you've been around Sensei a long time right?" He thought.**

" **Yeah about ten years I think now."**

" **Whats Sensei's taste in women?" Ryu sweatdropped.**

" **Huh? Aren't you guys marr-"**

" **ied, yeah" She looked embarrassed. "But he hasn't so much as touched me. So I thought maybe if I get closer to his taste in women, he'd be interested in touching me." Ryu backed away from her and looked like he'd been hit by lightening.**

" **MA-KUN YOU MUST REALLY BE STUPID! WHAT, ARE YOU TRYING TO BE COOL? HE'S DEFINITLEY HOLDING BACK! A CUTE GIRL LIKE YOU!" His yell startled Fumino and she tried to quiet him.**

" **Eh? Eh? Shut up!" she tried to cover his mouth.**

" **Bun-chan's so poooor!" he cried gushing great rivers of tears.**

" **EH?" Fumino grabbed him in a headlock to shut him up completely, passerby's giving them strange looks.**

"CUTTTTTT!" Yelled Ogata. He reverted back to his soft spoken self. "Great work everyone. We will now break for lunch and then resume filming." Everyone broke away drifting towards the lunch area chattering about the scene just filmed. Kyoko let go of Kinnji as she sensed a great angry aura emanating from Ren. Sure on the outside he was smiling, but that smile was one that said,  _ **KILL**_ _._ She hastily let Kinnji go, who grinned over how possessive Ren was being winked at him , throwing his arms around her shoulders.

" Kyoko-chaaaaaaaaaan! Let's get lunch!"She worried at his contact but decided she didn't really care until she saw Ren's glare and hurriedly ducked out of Kinnji's arms.

On the walk to the lunch room, people kept coming up to Kyoko and commenting on how real Fumino seemed and what great actor she was. Ren on the other hand was more annoyed with the compliments' he was getting.

"Tsuruga-san! Amazing, you played that perverted teacher to the T. It's almost as if you really  _were_  him!"

Or

"Wow. Tsuruga-san, I had no idea you would make such a charming pervert. I'd love to be harassed by you." [Insert ridiculous eyelash batting here]

After this one in particular, Ren became severely irritated. Kyoko, Yashiro, Kanae and Kinnji were greatly amused by the compliments much to his displeasure.

"This is getting just plain silly!" He groaned, exasperated after the umpteenth time someone complimented him. "He is not just a pervert! He's a caring husband as well as a devoted teacher! Right Kyoko?" Kyoko was too busy laughing as she noticed more women drooling over Ren in the far corner.

"Yes, yes, you are very caring." In an almost wifely fashion she straightened his tie and looked up into his face and paused, faltering. Then she smiled.

"You boys go on ahead to lunch, I just need to borrow Moko-san for a minute," Before anyone could say anything she grabbed Kanae and bolted to her dressing room.

One inside she locked the door and slid to the floor hands clutching her head. Kanae knelt beside her.

"Mo, what's wrong?" Kyoko looked up at Kanae in tears startling her.

"Moko-saan."she whispered in a sob. "I think..." Kanae leaned forward to hear clearly.

"...I think I'm ill." Kanae looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?"

"My heart is beating fast, I have butterflies in my stomach and my skin feels hot." Kanae began to worry.

"How often does this happen?" Kyoko thought about it for a moment. She snapped her fingers.

"Ah! Usually whenever Ren is around!" Kanae fell over.

"Ehh? Moko-san, are you alright? Are you sick?"  _No, I'm not Kyoko,_ Kanae thought _you are. Sick with the Love bug!_ Kanae had a thought.

"Kyoko," she said aloud.

"Hmm" She replied eyes full of worry.

"Did anything...happen at Ren's house?" Kyoko froze. Kanae watched with interest. She reached out and shook Kyoko lightly in the shoulder. "Mo! What happened?" Kyoko started to mutter unintelligibly.

"Why don't you ask me what  _didn't_ happen?" Kanae backed up warily at the strange swirling aura gathering around Kyoko. She seemed to have hit a nerve. "First I ended up sleeping with him cause I couldn't deal with a measly nightmare, then Taisho called and Ren pinned me to bed under him, then he came out of the shower with only a towel on! Who does that I ask you!" She finished her rant. Kanae only had one question. "And what did you think when he came out?"

One again, Kyoko froze. This time she went red. Kanae hid her laughter and pulled her to her feet.

"Relax, you're ill but not with something harmful." Kyoko cocked her head.

"How can an illness not be harmful?" Kanae winked at her.

"When you realize what you're sick with, you'll understand." With that the two left.

As they re-joined the boys, Kyoko was deep in thought as she reflected on Kanae's words. She slid into a seat next to Ren. Her leg brushed against his, and she felt a jolt of electricity. She couldn't help but stare at him. His face was so kind and so perfect. His body was like that of the Grecian Adonis. She suddenly had a revelation.

_The Butterflies in my stomach ..._ She thought...

_The Heat in my body..._

_The safe feeling his presence brings me..._

_The Shortness of breath I feel when he's around..._

_Oh no..._

_Oh dear god..._

_I've fallen_ _**in love** _ _with Ren!_


	8. Good Day

Kyoko clutched at her head as she sat next to Ren at the lunch table.

_Whyyyyyyy? Why I ask you, WHY? Of all people to fall in love with I choose Ren! He's sooooooo far out of my LEAGUE, its funny! Sigh...Kyoko you've paved the road for a painful love..._

Ren watched Kyoko out of the corner of his eye; she was going through  **a lot**  of weird facial expressions. He touched her lightly on the arm.

"Kyoko? Are you okay?"

"UGYAAAAAAAAA!" She jumped a mile at his touch and wrenched herself free while hastily backing up. But she forgot that Kanae was sitting right next to her and crashed into her, disbalancing her. Kanae toppled over taking Kyoko with her.

"MO! WHAT  **ARE**  YOU DOING?" Kanae was now flat on her back on the ground, with her legs still on the bench that she was sitting on. Kyoko was face down over Kanae, which she hastily got up from and helped Kanae up as well.

"Uh hehehe, sorry about that..." Ren got up along with the rest of the guys.

"Kyoko?" He reached out to touch her again and was surprised when she ducked out of the way, grabbed Kanae and pushed her in front, hiding behind her.

"Well, I need to do something really fast, so uh see you on set Ren." With that she bolted like a skittish deer towards her dressing room, leaving her cast mates standing confused. Yashiro put an arm around Ren's shoulders.

"So lover boy, what did you do?" Ren rolled his eyes.

"I swear, this time, I did nothing!"

The guys frowned at each other.

"If you didn't do anything then why is Kyoko-chan avoiding you?" Kinnji said mulling over the situation.  _She seemed fine before lunch, so why now_? Kanae took advantage of their staring in the way Kyoko had run off, to try and sneak away. She failed however as Yashiro caught her.

"And where do you think you're going Kanae?" He loomed over her. Kanae sweat dropped.

"Uhm..."

"You wouldn't happen to know why Kyoko-chan is acting so strangely, would you?" Kanae took a good look at Yashiro. She was surprised to find that up close he was actually quite good looking. She would've paid more attention if the need to protect Kyoko wasn't so overpowering. The idiot had  _finally_  figured out her feelings and there was no way she was about to let these dimwits for love, ruin it for her. Kanae flipped her hair over her shoulder and brushed Yashiro's hand disdainfully off her.

"As a matter of fact, I do. However, I'm not particularly inclined to tell you. So deal with it." She smirked at Yashiro's dumfounded face and walked off to find Kyoko.

BA- _THUMP!_

As he watched Kanae walk away, Yashiro became vaguely aware of his racing heart.

"Yashiro?" Kinnji waved his hand in front of Yashiro's face. "Are you okay?" Yashiro blinked.  _Worry about yourself later!_ He scolded himself.  _Right now, you've got to help Ren!_ He shook his head.

"Yashiro what did Kotonami-san say?" Kinnji asked. Yashiro ran a hand through his chestnut hair.

"She said she knew why Kyoko-chan was acting so weird, but she also said she wouldn't tell me what it was." Ren sighed.

"Well, she can't avoid me forever. We have a shoot in less than 20 minutes." Yashiro suddenly had a thought,

"Speaking of which, I never had a chance to ask you, what with the mess you two created this morning, what was Kyoko-chan doing in  _your_  bed this morning?" Shingai, Kinnji, and Ogata eyed Ren gleefully.

"You lecher, you! You finally did it?" Kinnji laughed and elbowed Ren in the side. Shingai, laughed, as he, in mock solemnity, put his hand on Ren's shoulder

"Today, my son, you have become a man." He stood at ease even under the withering look that Ren aimed at him.

"Knock it off; I'll have you know that  _she_  came to me!" This only earned more guffaws from the idiots. Ogata didn't partake in the ragging on Ren, he merely laughed at the situation.

"Meow!" Yashiro did a ridiculous  _Rawr_  pose. "I guess the kitty does have claws!" he chuckled.

"That is  **not**  what I meant! Kyoko just had a bad dream and she couldn't stand being alone." It did nothing to appease their laughter and left Ren wondering exactly how much time he would get in jail for the murder of three well known men.

...

***meanwhile in Kyoko's dressing room***

To say that Kyoko was freaking out would be an understatement. She was positively demented to the untrained eye of the casual observer. Kanae however could see the inward battle raging. Her demons were being unleashed in droves as Kyoko released every demon she possessed. Her newly found  _love_   _angels_   **(A/N: it is just me or does that sound wrong?),**  were having hell just trying to rein them all in. Kyoko, their master, was sitting on the floor in the darkest corner of the dressing room, muttering to herself and playing with her creepily accurate miniature Ren doll.

"You have some nerve, falling in love with your respected and esteemed senpai. I'm so far out of your league it's positively laughable!" She mimicked Ren's smooth and suave voice. "You should be punished for such less than professional thoughts about a fellow actor, least of all  _me!_ " She switched back to herself.

"GOMEN-NASAIIIIIIIIII! I know I have committed a heinous crime by falling in love with you! You are like a majestic mountain while I am nothing more than a pebble before you. A pebble I tell you! A PEBBLE! " She grovelled in front of the doll.

Kanae's eyes widened. She had suspected through Kyoko's expressions at lunch that she had finally figured out her true feelings for Ren. But to hear her voice the feelings so soon was a step she had thought would take months to accomplish. She grinned at the progress and quickly covered it up with her trade mark eye roll.

"Kyoko, what is the matter with you?" Kyoko looked up at her with big teary eyes.

" **MOKO-SAAAAAAAAAN! IT'S HORRIBLE! I'M IN LOVE WITH REN! REN! AS IN THE ALL MIGHTY TSURUGA REN! THE SEXIEST MAN ALIVE!"**

Unbeknownst to the two inside the dressing room, Ren and Yashiro were walking at this very moment past Kyoko's dressing room with mugs of coffee in their hands. They were discussing his schedule and had paused long enough to take fairly large gulps of coffee. As they passed her dressing room they distinctly heard Kyoko's unmistakable voice screaming:

" **...TSURUGA REN! THE SEXIEST MAN ALIVE!"**  Instantaneously and simultaneously, both men spit out the coffee in their mouths and strained to hear more, but the voices had become muffled.

Just then, the door opened and Kanae walked out.

"Mo! Stop agonizing over what you can't change! Now hurry up and get dressing, that ridiculous outfit takes forever to put on!" She closed the door behind her ignoring Kyoko's curses and saw Ren and Yashiro staring at her. She realized with a jolt that they might have overheard the conversation.

"How long have you two been here?" She asked suspiciously.

Just as Yashiro was about to answer, Ren, curse his honesty, said:

"Not long, although we did manage to hear that last statement."  _NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_ Yashiro wailed in his mind _. Ren, you inexperienced little child! We could've tricked her into thinking we'd overheard everything so she would tell us what they were talking about._ Yashiro sighed at the naiveté of his charge.

"What was that all about?" he asked. "About Ren being the sexiest—mmf!" Kanae clapped a hand over his mouth. She reached over and grabbed the collar of Ren's shirt.

"You two," She hissed in their ears. "Will not breathe a word of this to her. Or you will have  _me_  to deal with!"

She let them go and walked away, flagging down the directors to talk about the upcoming scene and her displeasure at what they were making her innocent and pure Kyoko wear.

 ***back in Kyoko's dressing room***  
Kyoko picked up the first part of her outfit, trying not to think of her revelation, and wrinkled her nose with disgust. These sorts of negligee outfits had never interested her and it was no different for this one. She reluctantly began to pull the outfit on. First came the strange animal print camisole with the sweetheart neckline, then the fish net stockings and finally the signature ruby red heels. Lastly, Kyoko pulled on her brown wig and called for the makeup artist.

When she walked on set, Kyoko, with a silk robe over her outfit, was desperately trying not to think of the fact that in this scene, she was trying to invite Re- err,  _sensei_ , to sleep with her, not to mention try to kiss him , while he's sleeping. Suddenly there was a commotion at the set entrance as a small child burst on to set.

"Kyo-neechan!" Jun threw himself into Kyoko's outstretched arms. He giggled as Kyoko blew wet raspberries into the crook of his neck. Jun hugged her.

"I missed you!" Kyoko squeezed him tighter.

"And I missed you!" She felt him pull away.

"Where's Oniichan?" Kyoko was confused for a minute and then realized that Jun was talking about Ren. She scanned the studio and found him talking to Ogata and Shingai, while Yashiro, Kinnji and Kanae were having their own conversation.

"Carry me over there neechan?" Jun pleaded with her. Kyoko flinched. Ren was the  _last_  person she wanted to see now. She made the mistake of looking into Jun's chocolate brown eyes.

"Pweaaaaaase Kyo-neechan?" He gave her his patented puppy dog look. (A/N: I dunno about you guys but when my three year old cousin does it, I'm helpless :P)  _Good grief,_ She thought and reluctantly made her way over to Ren.

"ONI-CHAAAAAAAAAN!" Kyoko winced. For a child, he sure had a  _loud_  voice. Ren looked up to find Kyoko carrying Jun towards him. He was waving madly, so that it was all Kyoko could do to keep him upright and in her arms. Ren couldn't help but smile at the sight. When she reached him, Ren tickled Jun without taking him out of Kyoko's arms as a way of saying hello. He noticed a stray piece of hair over Kyoko's face and moved to remove it. To his surprise and to the open mouthed surprise of Ogata, Shingai, Yashiro, Kinnji and Kanae, Kyoko's face went red and she actually closed her eyes as if it was too much to handle. Ren was about to comment when his stomach growled.

Loudly.

People who heard it stared at him and Kyoko realized that because she had been so preoccupied with her own problems, she had forgotten to make sure that he ate properly. Jun began to giggle. He put his ear to Ren's stomach, causing Kyoko to have to step closer.

"Oniichan's stomach is making funny noises!" Kyoko laughed and nuzzled his cheek.

"Funny noises indeed." She looked up and pinned Ren under  _that_  glare. The one that promised trouble. He coughed and looked nonchalantly at the ceiling.

"Ren, did you eat at lunch?" His face visibly paled, though he was avoiding her eyes. The crew watched the proceedings with interest. It was like watching a mother scold her son.

"...I wasn't hungry..." Kyoko narrowed her eyes.

"Ren, do you really want me to feed you again?" He swallowed and began to back away

"I think I better go help with the ...scene for the next shoot..." Kyoko grabbed his ear and twisted like a practised mom.

"Don't even try escaping." She yanked him to her level and settled Jun so he was straddling her waist and led Ren back into the cafeteria.

"ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" The crew was dumbstruck. Tsuruga Ren had been completely cowed by a woman 4 years his  _junior_.

Shingai gave a low whistle as Kyoko dragged Ren away.

"If he ever gets her, he better watch out, she's gonna be one scary Mrs. Tsuruga Ren." The rest of them broke into laughter.

Kinnji slung an arm over Yashiro's shoulder.

"If this is how she acts when she respects him and considers him her senior, I wonder what she would act like when that barrier isn't there." They paused and once again laughed at the thought.

...***********************...

Ren sat with Yashiro, Kinnji and Shingai in his dressing room rubbing his abused ear much to their amusement.

"Ren, you have to admit, even the mighty Tsuruga Ren is no match for a woman like  _that_." Kinnji laughed as Ren glared at him.

"I had no idea she could get like this. This is ridiculous!" The men laughed at seeing him so out of character, Ren was pretty shaken after the episode with the ear.

_Knock knock_

Director Shingai opened the door, and almost instantly Kyoko burst through the door and threw herself at Ren's feet. Kanae casually strolled in after her, internally laughing at the terrified looks of all in the room. Being Kyoko's friend did have its perks.

"GOMEN NASAIIII! TSURUGA-SAN! I'M SO SORRY! I'm SUCH A DISRESPECTFUL KOUHAI! I DARED TO BE SO INFORMAL WITH YOU! HERE YOU MAY CUT OFF MY HEAD SO I CAN COMMIT SEPPEKU FOR MY ATROCIOUS DEEDS!"

She held out a scarily real looking samurai sword to Ren. Yashiro nervously approached her.

"Now Kyoko-chan," he said, who knew what mess she could create with that sword, in fact...where did she get it...never mind...he didn't wanna know. He coaxed the sword from her arms.

"It's alright, Ren didn't really mind, did you Ren?" Yashiro glared at Ren as if daring him to say otherwise. Ren glared,  _he really wants me to tell her I didn't mind being treated like a misbehaving child? That'll sound like I have some strange Lolita complex!_  But then again, he looked at Kyoko's nerve wracked face and sighed.

"It's alright Kyoko, it's true it was a little shocking, but it was for my own good so it's quite alright." He smiled lightly at her and realized he was just scaring her again with his "Fake Smile". Just then a pounding resonated from Ren's dressing room door. Shingai opened it and Ogata came rushing in.

"OH IT'S HORRIBLE TERRIBLE. WE'RE DOOMED! DOOMED TO FAILURE!" Shingai grabbed the younger man and shook him before he was washed in away in his own tears.

"Hiroaki! Calm down! What happened?" Ogata calmed down long enough to relay the bad news...

"The actor we hired to play Shōuma Ojiro is injured and can't do it, and the actor hired to play Meg backed out because of scheduling issues! What do we do?" Shingai paced around the room.

"This is bad" he thought aloud. "Without the two of them we can't film the next episode...now what?" he thought some more silently and then happened to look up and fixed his eyes on Yashiro. He and Kanae were both worriedly thinking of any actor that they knew and could possibly fill the roles.

"You!" He pointed at Yashiro who instinctively ducked behind Kinnji in effort to hide. "You can play Shōuma!"

Yashiro shook his head at lightening speed.

"What, me? No, no, I don't even know how to act, I could never." Shingai rolled his eyes.

"Don't give me that. I had my guys research you because I thought you looked familiar. I kept quiet because there was no reason to out you, unlike right now, where it could help me. You were an actor up until recently, working in the big dramas and movies, under a stage name of course. But you ended up liking the managerial aspect more, retired from acting, and took up managing. Ren is your third charge. The others being child actors and you don't really need a manager for a child actor."

Yashiro flinched as waves of suspicion and slight anger began to waft off of Ren. Kyoko looked at Shingai curiously.

"So what has he acted in?"

"Well let's see, he's done many well known roles. Kurosaki from  _Dengeki Daisy_ , Izark from the drama  _From Far Away_ , Takano Kyouhei from _Wallflower_ , Ichigo Kurosaki from  _Bleach_ , Seto Matsumoto from  _Love So Life,_  Tamaki Suoh from _Ouran High School Host Club,_ Usui Takumi from the drama _Kaichou Wa Maid-sama,_ and also Shigure in the serial _Fruits Basket_  There others too numerous to name. _._ "

Everyone in the room was dumbstruck by the vast variety of roles that Yashiro had played, even Ren. The characters were as different from one to the other as fire was to water. Suddenly it clicked. Kyoko remembered from her actor's history class in school, that just 5 or 6 years ago, a legendary actor existed, who played extremely diverse roles and then suddenly disappeared off the face of the acting industry. But Yashiro couldn't possibly be...could he?

Kyoko looked at Yashiro hesitantly and said:

"Imai Kaien?"

–  **The room froze –**

Yashiro looked terrified, as everyone instantly went back in their minds to remember the actor that was hailed as god by the modern acting industry. Imai Kaien was legendary simply because of versatility and his ability to play any role, slip into any character and make it entirely believable.

"Yashiro? Is that true?" Yashiro cringed, turned around to meet his client's eyes and nodded dejectedly.

"Ren, I –" His apology was cut off as Kanae pushed herself into his immediate field of view.

"This is ridiculous!" she cried turning away after inspecting him. Kanae threw her arms in the air.

"Even Glasses-kun is a better actor than I am!" Everyone in the room sweat dropped. Kyoko walked closer to Yashiro and placed a hand on his chest for support while standing on her toes to run her hands through his chestnut colored hair.

"Hey Yashiro – kun, wasn't your hair a dirty blonde before?"

Yashiro winced at the description of his hair color and then stiffened as he felt the glare and hostile anger wafting off Ren behind him in tidal waves. He hastily grabbed Kyoko's hand and thrust her away at arm's length.

"Um it's dyed Kyoko-chan."

Shingai brought the conversation back to the problem at hand.

"So it's decided then, Yashiro will play Shōuma." He turned away as if the topic was closed.

"Hang on a minute! I didn't agree to anything!" Yashiro grabbed the man's shoulder. Shingai turned to him with a smile that Yashiro saw on Ren's face often. It was the one he frequently saw when Sho came up in Ren's conversations with Kyoko. Needless to say, the smile terrified him.

"Now, now, Yashiro Yukihito, without Shōuma we can't possibly continue the drama and if we can't continue the drama then poor Ren here would lose a profitable project." Ren saw an opportunity to rake his meddling but good natured manager over the coals a little. He tapped Yashiro's shoulder and smiled  _that_  smile.

"You wouldn't want to be responsible for that would you Yashiro?"

Yashiro knew defeat – and death – when he saw it. He let out a sigh and reluctantly agreed.

"Fine." He muttered. "But on one condition: I'm doing this as an UNCREDITED role. Got it? Uncredited! I want no recognition and I want absolutely no part of the post production publicity. I have no intention of returning to the acting industry, understood?" For a split second, everyone could see the powerful actor Yashiro had once been. Even Kanae grudgingly acknowledged in her mind that he would've been a formidable opponent, even for her. She also noted with some embarrassment that her mind was frequently returning to the idea that she wouldn't mind a little "competition" with him anyways as she surveyed his lean form. She brushed the thought away, mortified by them.

"Understood!" Shingai beamed and shook Yashiro's outstretched hand. But Ogata was not satisfied.

"Okay we have Shōuma, but what about Meg? We can't continue without her! Who do we substitute?" Shingai looked around and caught sight of Kanae whispering something into a red-faced Kyoko's ear.

"Ah! Kotonami-chan will do it!" Kanae's head snapped in his direction.

"I'll do what now? Said who? And what chan?" Shingai laughed as she stalked towards him.

"What are you complaining about? You've got a job and one that pays!"

Kanae realized the pros and suddenly also realized one VERY important aspect of the relationship between Shōuma and Meg.

"B-but that means I'll have to kiss Glasses-kun!" Yashiro looked offended while Ren merely laughed.

"Excuse me, I'm not looking forward to kissing you either! What man in his right mind would want to make out with a high schooler? Especially one with an attitude problem!"

Ren, Kinnji, Shingai and Ogata stared in surprise at Yashiro's comeback, while Kyoko giggled. Then they burst into laughter. A vein popped out on Kanae's forehead.

"Why you-!" She was cut off as Kinnji clapped a hand over her mouth and Shingai grasped Yashiro by the arm.

"Okay then. Let's go fill out the contracts shall we?" the two hastily dragged them away making sure not to let them get close enough to start fighting again, with Ogata trailing behind them.

They left so fast that it took Kyoko a few moments to realize that she was alone with the object of her affections. It would also be prudent for the reader to remember that the object of her affections was prone to being slightly sadistic, hence said kouhai is deathly afraid of being alone with him more often than not.

She murmured a quick goodbye to Ren and made a break for the open door. Ren's long legs however, beat her to it and Kyoko was left staring at the solid wood door with no hope of escape with Ren standing very close behind her. Kyoko didn't dare turn around for fear that his proximity would be too much for her to handle.

"So Kyoko, is there any particular  _reason_  why you've been avoiding me since lunch?"

Kyoko shivered as she felt his warm breath skim her ears and shoulder. She could tell from his voice that the Emperor of the Night was in full reign.

"a-avoiding you? I'm not avoiding y-"

Ren leaned closer, a dangerous smile visible to her through her peripheral vision.

"Now, Kyoko, you know that I know that's a lie. So care to enlighten me on why you are avoiding me and why you consequently feel the need to lie to me about it. Or I might just begin to be disappointed in my kouhai that has such little trust in me that she refuses to tell me. Am I that untrustworthy to you?"

In her haste to reassure Ren that that was most certainly NOT the case, she whirled around to face him. Both were startled as they grasped the full weight of how close they were. Another inch and he could easily kiss her, Ren realized. Then he looked down to see to his astonishment that Kyoko had unconsciously closed her eyes with her lips slightly parted, as if waiting for him to kiss her. His eyes locked on her face, Ren leaned forward –

_Knock , knock_

Kyoko's eyes flew open and she emitted a small squeak at Ren's closeness, his lips almost touching hers.

"Kyoko-sama, I was told that the last shoot for the day begins in five minutes. So if you are in there, please report to the studio."

They both heard the stage hand practically sprint away from the door. Ren slowly backed away from Kyoko. She let out a breath and opened the door. Smiling gently and nervously she said.

"See you on set Ren." With a swish of her silk dressing robe, she was gone. Ren rang for his makeup artists, barely registering their entrance as he sat in his chair and reviewed the events from a minute ago. He was still hung up on the fact that she looked like she  _wanted_  to kiss him and that she wanted him to kiss her. (It made more sense in his head). He suddenly growled, scaring the workers.  _What was he doing?_   _She was a high school student for pity's sake!_  He let out a defeated sigh. This woman would be the death of him.

Kyoko stood in her robe, with her costume underneath, listening attentively to the director's instructions.

"So remember, because of your wrist cast, you can't put any weight on it. On camera, we'll angle so it looks like you're leaning on both arms, instead of just one. Understood?" Kyoko nodded, forcing herself to pay attention despite being an internal mess as a result of what had transpired a few minutes earlier. However forgetting was not easy as the object of her thoughts had just entered the set with Jun. She slapped her cheeks to get a hold of herself, frightening the directors.

 _Calm down! You are Fumino as soon as you hear action! Fumino! Concentrate on Fumino!_  She took a deep breath and slid the robe off her shoulders and handed it to her assigned assistant. Ignoring the looks of adoration she was getting from the male population of the studio. Ogata cupped his hands around his mouth.

"AND ...ACTION!"

**Fumino heard Kazuma walk out of the bathroom from his shower and flung her door open startling him.**

" **Wah! F-Fumino-san! You scared me! What is it?"**

 **He looked questioningly at her blush. Suddenly she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist.** Kyoko and Ren were momentarily jolted out of their characters at the impact of their bodies colliding. They told themselves to concentrate and thrust themselves back into the characters.

" **Whoa! Fumino-san what – "**

" **Sensei! Will you sleep with me tonight?" She felt like her face was on fire as she looked up at him nervously. Kazuma smiled gently at her.**  Ren on the other hand, was recovering from a slight heart attack. He knew she was acting but he felt like it was real. He mentally slapped himself.  _She's going to kill you if she finds out that you think about these things,_ he chastened himself. He retreated back into character.

" **Alright, I understand."**

_**-5 minutes later-** _

_**Is he serious?** _ **Fumed Fumino. He had spread his futon out next to TEPPEI! There was no way he could be that dense! He was a grown man! Didn't he know what that meant? Teppei started to speak, oblivious of his sister's outrage.**

" **Ma-kin, can I come to your futon?" Kazuma smiled.**

" **Sure Teppei. You know I never really had a family so sleeping together like this is nice." Fumino smiled at the tender face he was making at Teppei, momentarily forgetting her anger. Sensei closed his eyes and as did Teppei. Fumino continued to stare and waited until his breathing became even signalling the fact that he was asleep. She crawled over her brother to place both arms over Kazuma, on either side of his head. She smiled as she saw his sleeping face, looking at him like this made her realize that no matter how hard she had tried not to , in the end she had was in love. She had fallen in love with her English teacher.** Kyoko winced as she accidentally put pressure on her wrist. Cr _ap, I have to be careful._ She carefully leaned closer to him, her focus on his lips, slipping back into Fumino.  **She leaned close enough to kiss him. Fumino and then...** Kyoko started to move to look towards Jun so that she could connect eyes with him as the script called. Jun turned in his futon to look at her...and accidentally knocked and yanked the blanket out from underneath the only arm holding Kyoko up over Ren.

THWACK!

The entire studio froze as the eyes of the two actors flew open and they stared at each other in shock. Their lips were melded together in an accidental kiss. Everyone was rooted to the spot. Even the directors, Yashiro, Kinnji and Kanae, although Yashiro was having one of his well known fan girl moments in his mind. The crew was dumbfounded. They had all seen Ren work on numerous occasions, but he rarely did on screen kisses as he was never in a romance drama aside from Dark Moon and even in that he hadn't kissed Momose-san yet.

Finally an observant stagehand noticed the two actors going blue in the face from lack oxygen.

"Um, shouldn't we separate them? If we don't, they're gonna pass out from lack of oxygen."

Everyone seemed to spring into action as soon as the stagehand finished speaking. Shingai whacked him on the shoulder for being smart and motioned to Yashiro and Kanae to separate the two. The two rushed them in the direction of their respective dressing rooms.

Kanae took Kyoko back into the dressing and sat her down on the chair. She caught sight of an extravagant flower bouquet in a basket full of the most expensive chocolates in Tokyo. She picked up the card attached.

_Kyoko,_

_I'm sorry. I was angry at the ...well I don't know why I was so angry but I know it wasn't cool to take it out on you. I hope we can forget it ever happened._

_Shoutaro_

Kanae snorted. When Kyoko was over this, she would kick his ass. But she went back to the task at hand.

The ride back to the apartment was the worst that Yashiro and Kanae had ever had the misfortune to be included in. The atmosphere was horrible. Yashiro tried to talk to his charge and only got grunts in response. The shock of the kiss, coupled with the bouquet from Sho had thoroughly messed him up. Kanae kept trying to lure Kyoko out of her catatonic state with small talk, but to no avail. Eventually, they both gave up and breathed a sigh of relief after being dropped off at their respective homes.

On the way up to Ren's apartment, Ren caught Kyoko sneaking scared glances at him. He sighed.

"What is it Kyoko?"

"Ano...Tsuruga-san –" His eyes widened and he grabbed her arm on the way to his door, spinning her to look at him.

"Why are you calling me that? I thought we agreed we were on a first name basis." She refused to look at him as she answered tearfully.

"I thought maybe I lost that privilege when I – I -..." she couldn't finish her sentence. He mentally slapped himself.

"Kyoko, that's not how friendship work. There is no such thing as  _demotion_  in it. Well, except when the friend betrays you..." No need to mess up her perception of her relation to Fuwa.

Both were so wrapped up in their conversation, that they didn't notice the reporter spying from a dark corner of the hallway. He was practically salivating. In all his years of covering Tsuruga Ren, he had never once caught him with a woman after work. Now, not only was he with a woman after hours, he was  _bringing her home!_  He snapped pictures as Ren slid his hands from her arms to her shoulders.

"~~~~ it's alright, that kiss during the shoot was accidental, it was nothing." The reporter couldn't catch the name of the woman, but was able to gather that she was an actress he worked with.

"But Ren, it's ridiculous that I'm taking such advantage of you, first I'm staying with you and now this!" Kyoko reverted back to calling him by his first name. Ren slid his hand to the small of her back as he began to unlock the door.

"Living together and that accident are on completely different levels and are completely different situations." The reporter took another couple of silent pictures of them entering the apartment together with Ren`s hand clearly visible around her waist, as his eyes bugged out.  _Living together?_ He had hit jackpot!  _Tsuruga Ren was_ _ **living**_ _together with a woman!_ He was glad he had decided to bring his voice recorder. He had managed to get the whole conversation on tape. He quickly made his way out of the building and jumped into his car, speeding towards the newspaper office. The higher ups would regret demoting him after this. He whistled in his car.

Tomorrow would be a good day.


	9. Let The Chaos Begin

Ren led Kyoko inside his apartment again for the second time in two days. He had to keep reminding himself that these were just temporary living arrangements; it wasn't like she had moved in  **because**  of him. He sighed. Somehow the unlikely hood of the latter situation depressed him.

They began taking off their shoes and coats and walked into the living room, at which point Kyoko ran into the Kitchen.

"Kyoko?"

"I'm making dinner now Ren, make yourself comfortable, go watch TV or something!" Ren blinked, if it had been anyone other than Ren, they wouldn't have noticed the tremor in her unusually high voice nor the suspicious rosy hue on her face nor the way she wouldn't meet his eyes. He decided with a mental smirk that today had been traumatising enough for her and rewarding enough for him, so he left her alone to tinker around in the kitchen and try to get her mind off of it. He settled comfortably in front of the TV, switching through channels lazily. Ren was sure that in some way, feeling this happy about the mistake was wrong, but he couldn't help it. He kept reliving the moment of the kiss. Her eyes had flown open in shock. He had been shocked too at first. The closeness was one thing, but the kiss was entirely another. Still, it was something he hadn't been expecting for at least another year. He was determined to take his time with this girl. All of a sudden, he heard a loud shriek and what seemed like an endless amount of crashing and banging. His whipped in the direction of the kitchen, all he could see from where he was, was a lid of a wok on the ground.

"Ren?" he heard a meek voice calling him from the kitchen.

"What's wrong Kyoko?" He said over his shoulder. He wanted to go over badly but kept his distance. He wouldn't go there unless she wanted him there. There was a slight pause.

"Um, ano... could you maybe come here for a second?" He got up and walked into the kitchen. Kyoko was in an unusual predicament to say the least, even for her. She was standing on top of a footstool, balanced on one leg. In one hand she had two pots of which she was desperately trying to hang on to, with the other she tried to keep a barrage of pots from falling on top of her from the open cabinet above her, while finally, with her so to speak unoccupied leg, she had one, fairly large, wok dangling off of her foot. Ren stared for a second and ran in to help her. He closed the cabinet carefully, while taking the wok off of her foot.

"Kyoko, while that was hilarious to see, what exactly, were you trying to do?" he chuckled as he took the other pots from her grip and allowed her to rest her hands. She looked at him indignantly.

" _Do not laugh at me!_  I didn't expect them to come falling out of the cabinet like that. You should pile them in like that!"

He laughed quietly and set all of her cooking materials on to the stove.

"You should say that to the last person using the dishes, and now who would that be?" She blushed as she realized she was the one that had been cooking. Some aspect of normalcy in her behaviour restored, Ren was relieved, he was torn. He wanted her to think about the kiss and what it meant, but he also didn't want her too. What if she became too scared and skittish?

He was about to leave when he noticed that Kyoko wasn't looking at him but rather at his feet. She then gazed up timidly at him from under her lashes.

"Ren...are you really not angry with me?" she asked tentatively.

"Angry? I'm not angry at you at all. " She looked at him unbelievingly and he sighed. He grabbed her hand and led her to the living room where he sat her down on the couch.

"Look," he crouched in front of her. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't surprise me, but it's not as big of a deal as it may seem right now." He mentally kicked himself for having to intentionally destroy the memory of their first kiss by saying it was nothing. "Actors have to kiss their co-stars all the time, and in our drama it was going to happen sooner or later, remember?"

Kyoko looked up at him timidly, "you're sure you're not angry with me?" He just stared at her. His eyes boring into her and he was giving her a look that said,  _I go to all this trouble to put you at ease and you_ _ **still**_ _doubt me?"_.

She flinched. "Got it. Not angry. Not angry at all." He chuckled and ruffled her hair evoking a sharp, " _hey!"_  from her.

"It's fine. Why don't we just get started on that delicious dinner you were planning?" She laughed, and daintily got up from the couch.

"I'll do it Ren, you just relax. I'll have dinner finished within the hour." She went back into the kitchen and Ren went back to pretending he was watching TV and not spying on her. True to her word, dinner was done and plated before the hour was up. They settled in to have a warm meal and pretty soon found themselves at ease, chatting about the day, both of them expertly skirting the main event that was on their minds. Through out the course of the evening Ren began to notice how the slightest physical contact would cause her to blush or how she would sneak glances at him, her gaze lingering on his lips, during the periodic silences that stretched comfortably between them.

Kyoko on the other was attempting to figure out how she could have possibly missed her feelings towards him.

 _Am I really_ _ **that**_ _stupid_? She wondered, amazed at her ability to pass by some of the most obvious signs.

When they both went to bed that night, the only thought on their minds were how much they loved the other person.

The next morning Ren and Kyoko got up early, got dressed and had breakfast which passed without incident except for the now pleasant change in atmosphere between the two. Curiously, Ren observed, she became more calm yet responsive to his teasing and minuscule attempts at making a move. His demeanour around her became more relaxed and he felt he could really be himself around her. He chuckled at a small joke she made, rolling his eyes at her. He realized he hadn't seen the morning paper yet, which was a staple of his morning routine. As he made his way to the door however, it flew open revealing a winded Yashiro.

"Uh, good morning Yashiro-san. You look like you came in a hurry." Yashiro didn't bother with formalities.

"Good Morning to you too, the happy  _relaxed_  actors. Need I remind you that you guys have a live interview at about 10:30 AM and it is now 9:00 AM? The station is HALF AN HOUR AWAY FROM HERE!" He grabbed the actors' things and pushed them out the door. Ren bent to pick the newspaper up from his front door, only to have it knocked out of his hands by Yashiro.

"No no, there's no need to look at that. Just hurry on to the car."

Though he was confused, thankfully Ren hadn't managed to catch a glimpse of the front page, Yashiro thought with relief. They drove to the studio in a relatively happy mood as both actors tried to figure out what was making Yashiro so chatty even though Ren had imposed a no talking rule in the car.

As they prepared for the interview, the show's host introduced herself.

"Good Morning, Kyoko-san and Tsuruga-kun, I'm Mei Kurosaki and I will be your host today, so feel free to approach me if you have any problems, okay? Although it is such an honour to meet you Kyoko –san, only two years in the business and look at you! Such a bustling success! I remember when I was getting into the business, being on camera is such a  _thrill_  isn't it _!_ "

Kyoko blushed under the praise and timidly expressed her thanks, after which the host turned her attention to Ren. She was a busty blonde who Kyoko judged was probably only beginning to get into her late twenties. It only took one look to figure out that she knew she was hot and she wasn't afraid to flaunt it.

"And Tsuruga – kun! What a marvellous revelation! Your acting in Dark Moon was phenomenal! I was moved, I would give anything to be wooed the way Mizuki was"

She poked him lightly in the chest and winked at him playfully, clinging on to his arm. Ren cringed inwardly; it was this type of woman that annoyed him the most, the flirty and not afraid to touch you kind. She was also the type that didn't give up. If you didn't respond to her flirting, her ego was bruised and she wouldn't stop until you did respond, just so her own mind was put at ease of being able to sway any man. Noticing Kyoko becoming uncomfortable, Ren excused and disentangled himself from the host saying he needed to have a quick word with Kyoko.

Mei was disappointed that Ren hadn't responded to her usually successful flirting but sighed and gave him the space he needed. Although she did make sure to swing her hips a little more than usual on her way back to her chair. Kyoko noticed, although Ren didn't and scowled at the woman's back, and then mentally whacked herself on the head.

 _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! You know nothing about this woman and you already hate her. And after she was so kind to you too._ She scolded herself. _How unprofessional!_ She should be used to this, Ren was and is Japan's Most Desirable Man, and of course women  **everywhere**  would hit on him _. It was only natural._   _He was probably used to it himself_. She collected her thoughts and turned to look at Ren.

"Kyoko, I think we should probably go back onto a last name basis for this interview." Seeing Kyoko's face fall and the slight hurt her face, Ren realized she had taken it the wrong way.

"I don't mean permanently, I mean just for the interview. Your career is just beginning to take off and the last you need is to be linked in an alleged "hook up" with me. I don't want my  _friendship_  with you to turn into a bother." Ren explained earnestly. Kyoko relaxed although she wondered at the emphasis on the word "friendship".  _So he was doing this for her sake,_  she thought, it was certainly sweet – and smart – of him. Kyoko nodded her understanding.

"You could never be a bother to me, but I see your point and I'll make sure to address you by your last name.  _Tsuruga - san_ " She smiled at him. Ren was momentarily frozen by the warm almost  _loving_  look she gave him. But before he could say anything the makeup artists raced over to give some final touches before they were called on stage.

"Good morning Japan! Welcome to Celebedge! Where the latest in movie and television magic is brought to you live! Today we have a treat for you! The actor who was named Japan's Sexiest Man and Most desirable Man for seven consecutive years and is on the list again Tsuruga Ren, is here live in person and so is his lovely co-star Kyoko from the drama  _Faster than a Kiss!_  And as if that wasn't enough, we also have a few other actors from that same drama Kotonami Kanae & Kinnji Seto as well as a  _secret guest!_ After the first quarter of the show we'll bring him out. Sound Good?" The host was rewarded with deafening screams of approval from the audience.

"So without further ado, let's call out our first guests of the day. Tsuruga Ren and Kyoko!"

Kyoko linked her arm through Ren's offered arm and gracefully entered the set amidst the loud cheers that intensified with Ren's entrance. While every woman had her eyes trained on Ren's lean and muscular figure, every man in the room was entranced by Kyoko. She wore a light pink dress with a sweet heart neckline and a hem that ended at mid thigh. She also wore soft white cardigan that covered her shoulders modestly, completing the look. Ren garnered equally awed looks as he appeared in a simple black v-necked cotton shirt and simple whitetrousers.

They sat down after hugging and shaking hands with Mei. Kyoko crossed her legs daintily, showing off her sculpted legs and delicate feet that were even more emphasized by the white wedge heels she had on.

"So it's been an interesting ear for you hasn't it Tsuruga – kun?" Mei asked.

"Indeed it has Kurosaki – san, I had the pleasure of working in such wonderful projects with such wonderful people." Ren smiled his patented gentleman's smile causing Mei to lose her focus a little bit. She fanned herself with her sheet of questions.

"A-and you Kyoko – san I just noticed that you only go by that name and not your last name, which not many people know." Kyoko smiled.

"Actually it's not that I don't want them to know, it's just that Mogami isn't a name I have made for myself, and it doesn't represent who I am. Kyoko is who I am and that is why I choose to keep my name simply 'Kyoko'." Mei was surprised that she actually found herself agreeing with the starlet.

"You are only 17 years old now, am I correct?" Kyoko nodded.

"Wow, in only two years you have managed to make quite a name for yourself. You've done many projects as well. Care to explain little for our audience?" She asked.

"Well," Kyoko began. "My first project was a Kyurara commercial which I acted in alongside my best friend."

"Best friend, you mean Ms. Kotonami Kanae?"

"Yes, after that I starred in a promotional video for Fuwa Sho," Ren started at the name of the childish singer. He glanced at Kyoko but was relieved to see that she was keeping her hatred for him under check. "seeing that Ogata – san approached me for the role of Mio and from there the Director of Box-R saw me and hired me for the role of Natsu-chan."

Mei perused her notes and came across something that interested her.

"Is it true that when you were beginning to film Dark Moon, Ms. Iizuka, the original Hongo Mio, believed that you weren't suited for the role of Mio and that she tried to get you fired?" Mei leaned forward, she was sure to get some gossip with this one. After all she was only 17; she didn't know how the industry worked yet.

Kyoko laughed blithely."Is that how it looked? I wonder who said that. It wasn't like that at all. Ms. Iizuka was concerned that the true essence of Mio wasn't coming across properly. Which was true actually, at that point in time, it was my first job where I had dialogue, I wasn't sure what was expected and I had no idea how to create a character. Ms. Iizuka was giving me a push in the direction I needed to go in."Ren joined in.

"Yes. That day Ms. Iizuka came to the set and wanted to make sure that Mogami-san understood her first job properly." Mei turned on him.

"So then I wonder if it's also true that you had issues portraying Katsuki properly and had been threatened to lose your job." Ren looked momentarily shocked.  _Where did she get this information from?_ He answered anyways.

"Well, it's true that I had some trouble but every actor goes through that phase. Right then, I was experiencing a sense of self doubt. I had forgotten how express the feeling of love and wasn't able to respond to Momose-san's acting. However I am glad to say that Katsuki is back and is raring to go and this time he will not lose."

The audience clapped and roared his approval for his statement. Mei smiled and shifted in her seat. She couldn't wait. While she adored Tsuruga Ren, she had a job as a talk show host. But she had seen the pictures in this morning's news papers and it was apparent they hadn't seen it; otherwise they wouldn't be so off their guard on the show. But she wanted some spectators first before she dropped the bomb. She cleared her throat.

"Alright! Well it seems we've gotten to know our guests, so let's call out the rest alright?" The audience cheered. "Let's warmly welcome our guests for today, Kotonami Kanae – san, Ogata Hiroaki – san, Director Shingai aaaaand our special surprise guest FUWA SHO!"

Kyoko and Ren froze. They turned to look at each other in annoyance while the actor walked in with his usually loud and unusually fluffy coat for a guy. Ogata-san, walked in with Kanae on his arm and Shingai walking alongside them. They took their seats which were arranged in a semi circle. Ren, Kyoko and Kanae were one side while Ogata – san and Shingai took their seats on the opposite couch.

The audience was equally awed by the new arrivals. Ogata sent of a uniquely warm and pleasant vibe as he smiled and waved to the studio audience. Shingai gave off an interestingly mischievous aura, one that indicated his fondness for having fun, sometimes at the expense of others. Kanae, last but not least, was elegant in a black pant suit, with a delicate silver necklace and stylish black pumps.

"So Kotonami-san, how would you describe work on the set of Faster than a Kiss? I believe that you weren't part of the original cast right?" Mei smiled. She was just biding her time; it was a well known fact that for a bomb to have the right affect, the timing and preparation had to be perfect.

"Yes actually, I was a late entrance but nevertheless I am deeply grateful for Ogata-san and Shingai-san for giving me this opportunity." She bowed her head delicately in their direction.

"Its true, that Kanae-chan was a late arrival, but what an arrival she made! The set positively roared to life with her on location." The cast thought back to the first scene shooting with  _Shōuma and Meg_ , they had been shooting out of chronological order so they had started with the scene where Meg was blackmailing Kazuma to kiss her in exchange for her silence about his current situation.

" _ **Fine. I'll keep quiet, but only if you kiss me." Meg sat down in Kazuma's lap. She had noticed the corner of Fumino's skirt and was willing to mess around a little if only to rattle two for the price of one. Kazuma was momentarily stupefied.  
"I'm sorry what?" Meg leaned closer, making sure she gave him an eyeful of her ample assets and slung her arms over his shoulders.**_

" _ **I said, kiss me." She closed her eyes, puckering her lips. Ignoring Fumino for the moment Kazuma's eyes hardened, he didn't flinch as Meg removed his glasses. Fumino instinctively abandoned her hiding spot to intervene in what she thought would be a kiss between her husband and another woman.**_

" _ **I refuse." Meg looked stunned. She stuttered out an indignant response.**_

" _ **What but I'll tell everyone, you know! You'll get fired and Fumi – ". She was cut off as Shōuma slammed the door to Kazuma's office open, grabbed Meg and kissed her soundly on the mouth while she was still parked on Kazuma's lap. All three were shocked speechless.**_

" _ **It's okay right?" Shōuma asked gruffly. "You never said a name, of which brother you wanted to kiss you, so this works right?" He grabbed her by the hand and dragged her out of the office. As he led her down the hall, Kazuma and Fumino caught sight of the brilliantly blushing Meg-chan and suddenly everything fell into place. She had had no interest in Kazuma, she was merely looking to make Shōuma jealous – and mess with Fumino at the same time.**_

_After the scene was over, both actors were brilliantly praised for their first shoot and then sent to their dressing rooms to pack up for the first day. Yashiro and Kanae made it as far as inside the change rooms before both collapsed on the provided couches._

" _Yashiro?" Ren looked over at his manager's still form on the couch. He hadn't acted for a while, the sudden return could have been more than what Yashiro expected. He got a good look at his managers face, it was crimson with embarrassment._

" _I had forgotten how into character you get when acting." Yashiro said plaintively. He had one hand over his face as he ran the other through his hair. In a split second Ren, curse his intuitiveness and perceptiveness, grasped the situation that had his friend in such a mess._

" _Ah. Kotonami-san." He said knowingly. Yashiro bolted upright._

" _Don't you dare laugh at me." He pointed an accusatory finger at his charge who was trying to wipe the sadistic smile from his face. "it's your fault I even know her! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this mess!" Ren's shoulders shook with laughter._

" _Hey, do not blame your overactive hormones on me."_

_Over in Kanae's dressing room, the scene was slightly more violent than the platonic change room of Yashiro Yukihito. Kanae was throwing chairs and pillows and whatever else she could get her hands on._

_Kyoko for the most part tried to save whatever was important and tried to talk her friend out of her frenzy._

" _Moko-san! What has gotten into you?" Kanae stopped, she turned to Kyoko with the expression of a woman doomed forever._

" _What you ask? WHAT? I'll tell you what's wrong, your boyfriend's dinky little manager is what's wrong!"_

" _Wha- Yashiro? What could he have possibly done?" Kyoko looked at Kanae puzzled. Kanae's face burned with mortification as she ground out her dilemma._

" _When he came out with that blond hair and in that high school outfit, tell me I wasn't the only one who thought he was...that he was..."_

" _Attractive?" Kyoko supplied helpfully she couldn't help but tease her best friend a little. "Hot? Gorgeous?" Kanae shot her a murderous look. Kyoko giggled, she was right, her precocious and defiant Moko-san was falling for Yashiro-san. Kanae turned even redder when she saw the knowing look on Kyoko's face._

" _This is ridiculous! I haven't felt this way about a man even once in my life!"_

Coming back to the present conversation with Mei, Kanae was red in the face, while the others worked hard to suppress their smiles as they all thought back.

"I see, well all of you seem to be very friendly with each other, seeing as you are all involved with dramas and acting, seeing as you are actors and directors. Why don't we spice it up a bit and call out our secret guest." The audience screamed in accordance.

"So without further ado, let's call out the young man who has stolen the hearts of women everywhere, our very own  _Prisoner of Love,_  Fuwa Sho!" The applause and cheering was deafening as the lights on stage went crazy and Sho entered from the arch decorated with laser lights and letters of fans littered the floor around him. He picked up a letter from the ground and kissed it, sending the spectators into a frenzy. He made his way over to the couches, hugging the women save Kyoko and shaking hands with the men. He and Kyoko acknowledged each other with a curt nod. This coolness between the two did not go unnoticed by Mei but she decided to leave it for now, she had bigger fish to fry.

"So Fuwachi" Mei said smiling her most charming smile on the young idol. "What a pleasure it is to have you here. Two of Japan's Sexiest Men in one place, makes it feel kinda hot in here doesn't it girls?" She winked at Kyoko and Kanae who could only manage the faintest of smiles in her direction. When Kanae thought of sexy, her mind wandered backstage where a certain manager was no doubt watching the taping. Just the thought made her blush.

"Thank you, Mei-chan," he winked at her. "There is no greater pleasure than sitting in the company of a woman as beautiful as yourself." Mei blushed prettily.  _Mhm._ Sho thought to himself,  _this one wouldn't mind coming home with him after the show. In fact she would probably invite herself._

"Well done on your newest album, it's so vastly different from your other works; there was so much soul and feeling in this one. I felt touched, as a woman. Some of those songs seemed to be appealing to someone, almost as if you wanted to convey something to someone." Sho narrowed his eyes. She may look like there wasn't much going on upstairs but that description was deceptive.

"Well not exactly, I wasn't trying to reach out to someone but more like I was trying to explain myself to my fans. I've met people before in my life, who believed it was my duty to cater after their every psychological need." Mei nodded for him to continue while Kanae glanced at Kyoko. He was almost positively talking about her.

"As a young star only beginning to make his way into the music industry, is it wrong for me to have to have to spend all my energy on my career?" The crowd agreed. "Then it became apparent to me that certain people couldn't understand that, and my album now is trying to convey my feelings to people like that. That just because someone doesn't think of you the way you want them too, doesn't mean they care about you any less, it just means they care about you in a different way." Mei applauded.

"Wow, Fuwa-san what an in depth idea, certainly, the emotion does translate across the music. I think everyone can agree that the music Fuwa-san has just released is his most soul rendering one yet." Mei turned to the rest of the guests.

"So are any of you familiar with Fuwa-san's work?" They nodded their assent. "Yes of course." Replied Ren. "Fuwa-san did sing the opening of our drama  _Accidentally in Love_  and Mogami-san has acted in a promotional video for him."

"So would you say you are personally acquainted?" Ren and Sho stiffened. For the sake of public appearance they decided to be cordial at least.

"Well considering he  _is_  from another company which I incidentally do not work with often, we are not very closely acquainted." Sho nodded.

"But Kyoko-chan and Fuwa-san are closely related, isn't that right?" Shingai and Ogata looked at each other warily. If anyone discovered the animosity between the two, it was over. Kyoko smiled professionally.

"Well other than work, no I wouldn't say so. I only know Fuwa-san through working on his PV for Prisoner of Love and chance meetings at various business and social settings." Satisfied with her answer, Kyoko settled back in to the chair, ready to let the host question the rest of them. Mai narrowed her eyes. She wasn't getting the juicy gossip she needed for her ratings, she'd have to step up her game if she wanted things to go her way.

"Well, all of you are currently working on Faster than a Kiss, except for Fuwa – kun. Why don't we have a look at what we can expect." With that the lights dimmed and a large screen behind them hummed to life. A promo for the series began to play, scenes passed, with Kyoko hitting Ren, or a smiling scene of a happy family setting up dinner and the mishaps of going to school and learning English from the man that was your lawfully wedded husband. Then some of the hotter scenes began to play, Kazuma shoved Fumino up against a wall, and proceeded to shower open mouthed kisses on her neck as she struggled to muffle the sounds bubbling up inside her. Kyoko's face became red as she tried to unsuccessfully block out the sounds her TV persona was making. Suddenly she felt a warm hand on hers and realized it was Ren's. She glanced up to his face and looked into his eyes, she could feel him rubbing circle on the back of her hand to calm her down.

The lights cleared again and the audience cheered, Sho scowled at the screen. The sight of his Kyoko being intimately touched pissed him off.

Mai turned back to her guests, so it is my understanding, that a couple days prior, you had a bad run in with burglars. Am I right Kyoko-chan?" Sho started, he rarely watched the news save for information about his music career. His gaze now zeroed in on the slight splint wrapped around her wrist. Kyoko rubbed it absent mindedly as Kanae responded for her.

"Yes, it seemed that they wanted the valuables in the house and ended up destroying parts of the house. "

"Unfortunately, we haven't caught the perpetrators yet." Said Ogata-san, "but we will, crimes need to be punished especially if they attack a young woman alone." Added Shingai-san.

"Alone?" said Mei, "I was under the impression that Kyoko-chan lived with a couple above a restaurant?"

"Oh I do, but they were away on a trip to relatives." Mai pursed her lips dramatically as she dropped her mega bomb on to the minds of millions across the country.

"So now that your house is temporarily uninhabitable, you are living with Tsuruga-kun right?" Kyoko and Ren blinked as the murmuring audience suddenly fell into a stupefied shock. Sho's face had gone mysteriously purple as he processed the information that his sweet, innocent childhood friend was now living with his mortal enemy.

Kyoko's face had strangely become devoid of all emotion as she looked at Ren.

"That's ridiculous, who came up with the idea that I was living with my colleague?"

Mei had been waiting the whole interview for this moment. The giant screen behind her whirred to life and projected an image of this morning's newspaper. There was a picture of Kyoko and Ren (with his hand on the small of her back) walking into his apartment at 11:30 last night. Of course there was also the witty newspaper headline:

_Sexiest Bachelor in Japan has a Roomate! Ren's Naughty Side Revealed?_

The silence was deafening. Ren groaned inwardly,  _great,_ he thought, _let the chaos begin._


	10. Empty Apartments

_That's it. We're dead. Done for! Goners! How the hell are we supposed to get out of this? It'll take a miracle to save us!_  Ren was freaking out. Next to him, he could ever so slightly feel Kyoko shaking next to him. No doubt she was thinking the same thing he was; what the  _hell_  were they supposed to do now? They couldn't risk getting found out by the media, yet the evidence was indisputable. The problem left him with a throbbing in his head that he was sure was going to turn into a full blown migraine.

Sho, on the other hand was pissed as hell, try as he might, he couldn't deny the evidence in front of him. Kyoko was living with Tsuruga and not only that but the two seemed closer to each other than ever before. He began to see red, how _dare_  he? He had no right to touch Kyoko, hell, he hadn't even touched her and now this guy thinks just because he's her sempai, that he's got some special privileges? No way in  _hell_! Then he realized where he was and tried to calm himself. He picked up the cup of coffee next to him and took a long gulp as he tried to calm his nerves. While he was drinking, he kept his eyes focused on his childhood friend. He put the cup down and leaned back in his chair. It looked like she was about to say something.

Kyoko knew what she had to do; she would just say it was a misunderstanding. That she had moved into the apartment beside him. Never mind the fact that she couldn't afford it, she would worry about that later. All she had to do was say that being neighbours is practically like living with him. She picked up her teacup and took a delicate sip to punctuate her statement.

"Well Kurosaki-san it seems we have a misunderstanding here about what actually happened. You see I just moved into the apartment beside Tsuruga-san's" Ren's eyes flicked off stage and found that Yashiro was gone, no doubt arranging for Kyoko's things to transported to an empty apartment in his building with the President. He turned his attention back to the conversation at hand; Kyoko was still trying to convince Mei that she wasn't living with him.

"In any case–" she paused.  _Hang on,_ she thought,  _this coffee..._ She happened to glance up at Sho and her face blanched.  _Oh dear lord.._  Without preamble she turned to the host.

"Kurosaki-san," she began urgently, "what was in the coffee? Please tell me it  _wasn't_ hazelnuts!" Mei looked confused at the sudden change in topic but replied.

"Umm yes it is hazelnut, why-" she was interrupted by coughing from the chair next to hers. She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence because Kyoko's attention was already elsewhere. She had turned to Sho, who's head was , strangely, down.

"Fuwa-san?" Kyoko said urgently. If he could at least speak, then there wasn't sufficient cause to worry. But if he didn't answer, it would be bad. Very bad. And true to her fears, he wasn't answering. The rest of the guests kept switching their gaze from Kyoko to Sho. Something seemed to be wrong with him. Kyoko got up hastily shoving the center coffee table out of her way, kneeling in front of him to everyone's surprise. She shook him.

"Sho!" At this point Shoko ran out onto the stage, she grabbed his hair and forced his head up and gasped. His skin was hot and sweaty to the touch; his eyes were half open and feverish. Kyoko reached up and forced his mouth open. By now the crowd was getting louder and louder with concerned panic settling in for Sho. Kyoko noted with mounting horror that the roof of Sho's mouth had swollen and it looked like he couldn't breathe and his lips were beginning to swell. She began to frantically search his clothes, while the others watched with concern. Ren and Kanae approached her first.

"Kyoko- is everything oka-" he was cut of as Kyoko's frantic and shrill voice rang out.

"Call an ambulance!" Mei motioned at the director to do as she said while the guests crowded around them. "What's going on Kyoko?" Kanae asked. Kyoko's searching still continued. She kept muttering

"He's having an allergic reaction. An epilepsy attack! Where is it? I know he has to keep it on him. He isn't that stupid to not carry one with him – OH!" her exclamation startled all of them. "Shoko get me his bag!" She ordered Shoko in a surprisingly commanding voice as Shingai and Kinnji could be heard in the back. "An allergy attack? How did she know he was allergic to hazelnuts?"

"She  _is_  his childhood friend, one would pick up on such things." Ogata replied, calm, oddly enough, in the middle of all the chaos. All any of them could do was to watch the goings on and try not to get in Kyoko's way.

Suddenly, Shoko returned carrying a large black leather messenger bag which Kyoko ripped out of her hands and began rummaging through unabashedly. With a loud exclamation, she pulled a long silver stick out of a white holder.

"HA! I found it! I  _knew_  he wouldn't be stupid enough to not bring his Epi Pen with him!" Kyoko turned to Sho and in one fluid movement she jabbed the Epi pen firmly through his black pants and into his right thigh. Sho jerked harshly in pain, Kyoko pressed a light kiss onto his forehead, much to the shock of everyone.

"Shh. Its alright, you're alright now Sho." She murmured in his ear. She pressed his face to her chest and almost instantly, Sho seemed stop, his lips began to regain his natural color as he began to become more alert and aware. Kyoko breathed a sigh of relief as she opened his shirt and checked for rashes and put her head against his chest to check for a steady heartbeat as paramedics thundered on to the stage and began to swarm around her. They congratulated her on her quick thinking saying that if she hadn't, he wouldn't have lasted long enough for them to arrive, though, they added, he wasn't out of the woods yet. Kyoko withdrew from the commotion and seemed to sag against Kanae in exhaustion. The paramedics quickly loaded the singer into a stretcher and into the ambulance, roaring away at full speed towards Tokyo Central Hospital.

"Thank god." She sighed. "I thought he was going die." She rubbed the back of her hand across her closed eyes, wiping off a slick sheen of sweat. She wouldn't admit this later, but the panic she had felt at that moment had been paralysing. To think she had come so close to losing him, the thought made her shudder. Try as she might, she wouldn't even wish that kind of death of Sho, and whether she liked it or not, he was a part of her life, and his death  _would_  effect her, plus she would've regretted not helping him, his parents would have been devastated and she wouldn't have been able to bear that.

It was then she realized that everyone was staring at her. Including the  _live_  studio audience. A quick look at the camera confirmed her suspicions; the steady red light told her quite clearly that they were still on air. And here she was.

On the floor.

Sitting there like an idiot.

Trying to seem nonchalant, Kyoko picked herself off the floor, dusting herself off and nimbly walked back to the couch and sat down. The rest of the actors followed suit, so she was once again seated between Ren and Kanae. Mei stared at her, for once in her life speechless. She turned to the camera with a strained smile.

"Aand that's all the time we have today everyone! Join us next time as we welcome to the show some very special  _secret_ guests!" The words left her mouth woodenly as Mei internally cringed.  _Boy am I glad this is over, I have no idea how to deal with this!_

The red light turned green as the live audience filtered out the studio doors talking in muted voices about the show they had just seen.

"Kyoko-san!" Mei cried as soon as only the stage crew were in immediate vicinity, "how did you – I mean you knew he was having an attack? I thought you said you were only work acquaintances." Everyone stared at her, wondering what she would say to defend herself against this. The attack had been caught on tape, so she had to have her story straight now. She contemplated lying briefly but decided against it.

"Sho's actually deathly allergic to nuts. Hazelnuts in particular, he doesn't really know what they taste like so he didn't know it was in the coffee."She said tiredly, not noticing that she had reverted to calling him by his first name. Ren did notice however and his frown was evident to everyone, who mistook it for concern. Kyoko stiffened as she felt Ren's mood turn dark. She turned around to look at him.

"Tsuruga-san?" she said hesitantly, he just smiled at her.

"Yes what is it  _Mogami-san?_ " Kyoko shivered,  _what the hell is the emphasis on my name for?_  The others (particularly Yashiro and Kanae) also noticed his mood and made their respectful departures.  _I'm sorry Kyoko-chan!_ Yashiro wailed internally,  _You're on your own this time!_

"Tsuruga-san, Kyoko-san, we'll see you at the set okay?" With that Shingai, Ogata, Yashiro and Kanae left to go to the shooting site. Since Mei was there he quickly texted Kyoko and Ren that the President had arranged for an apartment for Kyoko right next to Ren's. With a subtle nod in their direction, Yashiro left. Mei also took her leave reluctantly. Her time slot was done and she couldn't keep the actors against their schedules, she maybe a stubborn as hell when there was good gossip afloat, but she also valued professionalism, and she had other appointments that she couldn't skip out on. They walked back to Ren's car alone, Kyoko turned around to face Ren.

"What's wrong Ren?" She looked at him like he was dangerous to even talk to.

"Nothing." He ground out.

He was upset, he kept replaying the affectionate kiss that she had given Sho and it angered him to no end. All he had wanted at that moment when she was fussing over Sho, was to rip her from him. Despite knowing that she had a good reason to act that way, he was  _still_  upset. He had also been startled when she had gone through his private belongings like it was nothing. Something she would never have dared to do had it been him. She was always so careful with him, but with her precious  _Sho_ , she threw caution to the wind and did as she pleased.

The ride back to his apartment was silent. But unlike the other silences they had shared, this one wasn't as comfortable, it was a strange, tension filled silence that made her squirm in her seat and made her afraid to look at him. Once they arrived at his apartment building, the trip up the elevator and to his apartment was even tenser. He opened the door and walked in, for once not being the perfect gentleman and making Kyoko enter first. Which was odd. He was usually so stuck on etiquette, this time he just left her to walk in on her own as he flung his coat on to the couch and walked to his ceiling to floor window over looking central Tokyo. Kyoko walked in behind him shutting the door softly behind her, set her purse down on the coffee table and stood uncomfortably in the center of his living room. The silence between them stretched until Kyoko could stand it no longer and she hesitantly ventured to say something.

"Ren are you alright?" he let out a frustrated sigh. He didn't turn to face her, choosing instead to keep watching the city below him buzz with life.

"No I'm  _not_  alright. Not at all." Kyoko stared at him, taken aback. Why was he so upset? Kyoko thought confused. It showed in the very stance of his body. Something was bothering this man very much.

"Ano, if I may be so bold to ask, why are you so irritated?" The minute the words left her mouth, she cringed.  _Stupid! What kind of a way to pose a question is that? That'll just make him madder!_

"Kyoko, didn't you say that the reason you entered the entertainment industry was to prove your worth to Fuwa?" Ren asked. Somewhat puzzled by the strange direction in which the conversation was going, but still indignant at his thoughts Kyoko replied.

"I thought we had already gone through this! Yes at first, but now it's more to discover a new me." She was startled by his instantaneous almost explosive response.

"Is this  _new_ Kyoko a Fuwa fan?" Her eyes widened.

"Of course not! What would make you think that?"

"Then what are you doing Kyoko? In front of all of Japan, you embraced Fuwa! The intimacy you displayed to him will be taken as affection!" Kyoko flinched, she was aware what she had done would have some negative repercussions.

"Maybe, but I don't regret doing what I did! He was scared and he was in pain, I was just trying to calm him down."

"Wasn't it you who said that you never wanted to turn back into the woman you were before you entered LME?"

Kyoko went rigid as she took his words and implications in.

"What are you saying? That I've turned into a Shotaro worshipping groupie?" Ren snorted.

"Certainly seems like it. You were quite clingy with him today."

"He was having an  _allergic reaction_ Ren! Was I supposed to just leave him there?"

"No but you kissed his forehead!"

"Yes! The way you would kiss a sick child!"

"Need I remind you, he's not a child! He's almost a fully grown adult!"

"I don't understand why you're behaving like this Ren! Why on  _earth_  are  **we**  fighting over something as trivial as a kiss on the forehead?"

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU THAT CLOSE TO HIM!" Ren practically yelled! Finally turning to look her in the eye. "YOU  _CAN'T_  ACT THAT WAY WITH HIM!"

"What do you mean  _'I can't'?_  I SURE AS HELL DON'T RECALL EVER SAYING THAT YOU COULD DICTATE WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT DO REN! I DEALT WITH THAT MY ENTIRE LIFE AND I DONT NEED IT FROM YOU!"

"MAYBE, THAT'S BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED!"

There was a long silence as both stopped to catch their breath. The two had reached a stalemate in their argument that no one was willing to admit defeat to. The temperature in the room seemed to drop steadily as the tension between the two went from mildly and uncomfortably chilly to downright furiously freezing. Once again, Kyoko broke the silence first.

"Maybe it's a good thing the president gave me my own apartment. Clearly," she said in a chilly voice. "we need some space. And I sure as hell don't want to stay a second longer with a controlling jerk like you." Ren chose not to reply, turning to look back out the window, his back solidly to her. Without another word, Kyoko picked up her handbag, and walked out of his apartment, closing the door with a loud slam! That echoed through his now empty apartment.

 


	11. In Love with Mogami Kyoko

When Ren and Kyoko arrived on set later that day both were still furious and were adamantly ignoring each other. They had arrived separately, Ren before Kyoko who arrived on her bike, leaving the cast and crew utterly perplexed at the sudden animosity between their lead actors. They were currently being briefed by Director Ogata on an upcoming scene all the while stonily refusing to speak or even look at the other person.

They were shooting episodes 7-9 today so pretty much all of the characters were on set including Kinnji, Yashiro, Kanae and Jun. Yashiro paced worriedly as they waited for the director to be done his briefing

"What is  _wrong_  with those two? I only left them for 3 hours! How did it turn out to be this? Why in Kami-sama's name are they ignoring each other?" He stared at them as if somehow willing the answer to present itself to them. Kanae shook her head,  _honestly, this girl is so troublesome!_

"Everybody in position?" They heard Director Ogata shout, Shingai had also gone to stand next to his co-director. "Annnnd ACTION!"

**"I'm home!" Kazuma entered the apartment to be confronted with his wife and her younger brother is nurse outfits.**

**"Welcome home dear!" Kyoko ground out, because of her anger with the man, she had been unable to call Fumino, so instead here she was playing Kyoko. She looked up and made eye contact with Ren, finding herself unable to look away from his sudenly cold gaze. She vaguely heard a sigh off set and then,**

"CUT! CUT! CUUUUT!"

They both turned to see the directors walking towards them shaking their heads.

"Kyoko, Ren," Shingai said, hand on his head. "This scene between Kazuma and Fumino is supposed to be light and playful! It shouldn't feel like a glaring competition!" The two actors had at least conscience enough to look apologetic.

"Sorry Ogata-san, Shingai-san, I'll do better in the next take - " Kyoko stopped abruptly as Ogata shook his head no.

"I'm sorry Kyoko-chan, Ren-kun, but I think you guys need a break. Shingai-san and I have some business to attend to, so maybe you should use this next hour to pull yourselves together." He smiled kindly at them, making Ren feel even more ashamed of himself.  _Damn it, what am I doing?_  Still not looking at each other they bowed to their directors and stalked off in opposite directions to their dressing rooms.

Yashiro and Kanae rolled their eyes at the actors' exit.

"Honestly, they're acting like children. I'll take Kyoko and you take Ren." Nodding at each other, the two went off to find their friends.

As Kanae approached Kyoko's dressing room she could hear the distinct sound of furniture being kicked. Getting closer, she could hear Kyoko muttering to herself, her sentences periodically punctuated with a kick.

"Of all the controlling"  _thump_ "egotistical"  _thump_ "moronic"  _thump_ " _IDIOTS!_ " A particularly hard kick followed. "I  _hate_  him!"

_Well,_  Kanae thought wryly, clearly _voicing her feelings will not be an issue._  She knocked on the door.

"Kyoko?" She heard a low curse and then scrambling as Kyoko was no doubt making her dressing room decent again. Or trying to as it were.

"C-come in!" She heard the young girl call and opened the door, walking inside. Once inside, she looked over the room and had to admit, it looked like a small tornado had gone through the room. There were make-up supplies strewn across the dressing table and her bag had been knocked over, the contents spilling out slightly. Kyoko herself stood in the middle of the room, standing with her hands behind her back, her face pink, like a child being caught doing something naughty.

"So, " Kanae began dryly, "you wanna tell me why you and Ren look like World War Three is about to start?" She watched her face turn stony again, and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's all his fault! I don't understand how I fell in love with someone like him!" She muttered, glaring at the floor. Kanae sighed, seeing this could take a while, she pulled out a chair and straddled it backwards and motioned Kyoko to sit down in another chair.

"Alright, tell me what happened, start at the beginning and don't leave out  _anything_."

LINELINELINE

Yashiro approached Ren's dressing room somewhat apprehensively. This was the man's first serious fight with Kyoko and he wasn't sure how he would take it. Violence wasn't like him but that girl brought out new emotions in him that Yashiro had never seen before so he couldn't be certain. Upon going closer however, Ren's dressing room was suspiciously silent. He knocked on the door lightly. There was a moments silence and then a gruff

"Come in." was heard.

Yashiro peeked in and was relieved to see the room in one piece. then he took note of the atmosphere in the room. Shivering, he realized that Ren was not "somewhat" angry. He was downright  _furious._

"Ren?" Yashiro asked hesitantly, his charge only grunted in acknowledgment.

"What's wrong? What happened with you and Kyoko?" As expected he received only silence as an answer. He sighed and turned to leave, hand on the door.

"Ren please, we're friends aren't we? At least I thought we were, maybe not I guess. I just want to help you." This seemed to get Ren's attention. He sat up straight from his hunched over position on the couch.

"I'm sorry Yashiro, I just - " He stopped and narrowed his eyes at his manager. " Hang on a second, what do you mean 'you'd like to be my friend' We are friends." Yashiro looked taken aback.

"O-oh. Sorry. you just don't act like we are. You always keep me at arms length. It seems you talk more to the chicken from Bridge Rock than you do to me." Ren chuckled dryly.

"Yeah my chicken friend.."

"Alright so what happened?" Yashiro asked, leaning against the wall near the couch. Ren sighed and looked away.

"Ren.." Yashiro said warningly.

"Look I just snapped okay!" His sudden outburst effectively shut down all speech from Yashiro. "After the interview we went back to my apartment and I realized that no matter what I do, he'll  _always_  matter more to her than me. Be it hatred or love, he owns a bigger a part of her heart than I do. Besides the line between the two is pretty fuzzy. How am I supposed to compete with that?" He buried his hands in his hair. "And to make it worse, she kissed him -  _kissed him_ Yashiro - on live TV! Doesn't she understand what she's done? Every gossip columnist, blogger, and tabloid writer in the country, not to mention the paparazzi will be after her. She's only 16, how is she supposed to deal with all of that? She'll be hunted down! But as always, he matters more to her than that. Had it been me, she would be more concerned with propriety and would be pulling her out in terror over what she's done. But she's calm right now, she doesn't give a damn about any of it! It's so irresponsible that I can't stand it!"

Out of breath, the only sound in the silent room was Ren's heavy breathing. Yashiro moved from his position against the wall and gingerly sat down across from Ren in a chair, looking him straight in the eye.

"ARE YOU A GODDAM IDIOT?"

LINELINELINELINE

"I SHOULD KILL YOU RIGHT THIS DAMN MINUTE!" Kyoko jumped, startled at Kanae's sudden yell.

"Moko-san?"

"Don't 'Moko-san' me you colossal moron! I should wring your neck right now!" Kanae said, looking like she was about to start pulling out her hair.

"W-why? What did I do?" Kyoko looked genuinely confused, so Kanae forced herself to calm down.

"Look, " she began, holding a hand to her forehead, she was going to have a huge headache by the time she went home today. "Ren's behaviour wasn't the best, that I admit, but he has a point."

"What? Are you siding with him?" Kyoko got up, incensed. Kanae fixed her with an icy glare.

"Sit. down." With a small  _eep_  of fright Kyoko propped back into her seat. "I'm not finished with you yet." She pinned her best friend with an exasperated look. "Seriously. Ren is an idiot. We both know that, but even he's not such a jerk that he would deliberately try to hurt you. Hasn't he always had your best interests at heart? Besides from the conversation you've told me, it sounds like a different issue entirely, it sounds like -" Kanae stopped, staring at Kyoko, thinking quickly.

"Moko-san? Aren't you going to finish what you were saying?" An idea suddenly hit and Kanae had to stop herself from grinning.

"Nope. I think you should figure it out yourself." Kyoko looked horrified at the very idea.

"Nu-uh. No way. I am not talking to him."

"Maybe you won't talk to him. But I'm positive he's gonna go looking for a certain  _chicken_  today, don't you think?" Kanae looked meaningfully at her and Kyoko froze.

"You - You know?" She squeaked, her face going scarlet as Kanae nodded.

"Oh my god, this is so embarrassing!" She buried her face in her hands. Kanae rolled her eyes.

"What? Did you think I wouldn't come back to check up on you? And what do you think I found? Mogami Kyoko, pretending to be a man in a chicken suit and playing counsellor to Tsuruga Ren." Kyoko made another squeak of mortification.

"Honestly, though, who cares? Anyways, you're playing Bo today right? You better pull yourself together then," she said at Kyoko's nod. "I guarantee you, he's going to come find you, but for now, quit causing everyone else trouble and do your job."

"Right."

LINELINELINE

That night, Kyoko sighed after she stepped out of the studio after her segment on the show. She had managed to give a decent take after her hour long banishment but her enthusiasm was noticeably diminished. All through today's Bridge Rock taping, she had been terrified she would run into Ren after talking with Kanae. So far though, he hadn't shown up. As she walked past the hallway he was known to frequent, she froze.

_OH MY GOD HE'S HERE! Now what? If I walk away he'll hear the stupid suit squeak! Argh! Okay, phew. I can do this. I just have to pretend I_ _ **don't**_ _want to drop kick him in the face._  Taking a deep breath, she approached Ren, who was so lost in his depressed world that he didn't hear her approach.

"Yo."

Ren snapped his head up and found himself face-to-face (face-to-beak?) with the man -  _chicken?_ \- he had come here looking for.

"H-hey." he said weakly, making the chicken frown.

"Well that was enthusiastic." She settled herself next to him on the bench he was sitting on.  _Act normal, act normal,_ she repeated internally, like a mantra.

"So you're depressed again. What happened? Did they change the script on you again?" Looking at this anonymous chicken, Ren wondered why he was able to talk to him with such ease. It hit him suddenly that the reason lay in the chicken's anonymity. Had he been looking at an actual face, Ren doubted he would have been able to confide in him so easily.

"OOoooi." A hand (wing) waved in front of his face. "Quit staring at me like that, you're making me shy!" Ren rolled his eyes.

"Right."

"So what's the problem? If you don't tell me I cant -"

"I'm an idiot. A class A moron."

Kyoko stopped abruptly at this statement from him.

"Now what the hell does that mean?" She found herself asking.

" Have you ever made a really stupid mistake?"

Kyoko raised an eyebrow at him.

"Doesn't everyone at some point?"

Ren snorted.

"Yeah, but the one that I just made was so stupid I could kick myself." Kyoko felt inclined to agree but realized he seemed to regret doing it.

"So what did you do? Come on out with it."

"I-" He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "I snapped and yelled at a colleague and said some things I shouldn't have." Kyoko realized that now for sure he was talking about her.

"Why?" She asked cautiously.

"Have you seen this morning's  _Mai Takano Show_?" She shook her head mutely.

"Well there was a...situation, the colleague's childhood friend was on the show and experienced a severe allergic reaction." She nodded

"Go on." It was strange to hear this from his point of view.

"Well, my colleague just flew into action and took over. To make matters worse, she kissed him on the forehead on live TV." Kyoko could feel herself bristling but forced herself to remain neutral.

"Why does it matter?"

"Why does it -" Ren looked at her incredulously. "You mean you don't get it either?" He groaned, then straightened to look at her properly. "Look my colleague is a 16 year old girl. She's very new to the industry and even her childhood friend has been here longer than her. But yet, here she is, on her first ever  _live_ TV interview and she  _hugs_ AND  _kisses_  him!" Kyoko still didn't see his point.

"Argh! Don't you get it? Because of that simple gesture, every reporter, gossip blogger, and tabloid writer in the country is out for her blood! And for god knows how long! I've seen way too many talents crack under that pressure. They can't handle being scrutinized every minute of the goddamn day! I'm worried that she'll be hounded by paparazzi and that producer's will hire her for her publicity and not her ability. And she s _till_ doesn't get it! It's just too damn irresponsible!" he flopped his head over the back of the bench, exhausted by his speech.

Kyoko was speechless. So all that rage was because he was worried about her? She had to know more.

"So you yelled at her and told her all that?" She watched as Ren shook his head no, surprised by the blush on his face.

"Well-no."

"Then how is she supposed to know Einstein? She probably just got mad at you instead."

"And that's exactly what happened . I just snapped and yelled things like 'you can't do that!' I couldn't tell her, besides then she would know!"

"What's that supposed to mean? What would she know"

"It means how was I going to tell her that? I can't tell her that because its not the only reason I got so mad! How was I supposed to tell her that I was  _jealous?_ "

_Huh?_

_"_ You wanna run that by me again?" She asked nervously as she watched Ren's face go crimson.

"Remember the high school I was telling you about?" He practically whispered the next sentence. "That would be her. I'm in love with Mogami Kyoko."

 


	12. Change

Kyoko's mind ground to a complete and utter halt, uncomprehending the sudden change of situation. It was silent following Ren's confession. He was overcome with embarrassment while Kyoko was trying to calm her racing heart.

"O-oh." She squeaked out, trying to desperately retain her character as "Bo". She would deal with the severity of his confession later, when she was alone, so she could scream in peace. "So you l-...love the girl who plays Mio on Dark Moon?" She tried to re-affirm his statement, in case she'd heard him wrong somehow. At his mute nod, Kyoko felt her mind narrowly avoid exploding into chaos.

"But what should I do? I've royally pissed her off and now she'll never speak to me again! I said stupid things that I didn't mean, I was just jealous, and that stupid jealousy is going to make me lose the only woman I've ever loved." Kyoko started. He clearly regretted his actions, that much was apparent, her heart was beginning to melt for him and she felt some of her anger disappear. She loved him and it was obvious he loved her. Trying to push her panic of his confession under, she tried to help him.

"Tsuruga-san," Kyoko said, causing Ren to look at her. " It's not to good to give up before you've tried. Look, try and apologize to her, if she sees that you are genuine, maybe she will forgive you, just tell her your true feelings." Seeing the panicked expression on his face, she rushed to correct herself. "Not  _those_  feelings! Just explain to her honestly what made you so angry about the whole fiasco. I'm sure she'll hear you out at the very least."

Managing a weak smile, she got up and dusted herself off, and as she did so, she heard Yashiro call his name.

"Ren hurry up! You have a meeting upstairs in 20 minutes!"

Ren got up apologetically as well.

"Sorry, I guess I have to go. I'l keep your words in mind though, thanks." Without thinking, Ren held his fist out for a fist bump which Kyoko returned reflexively, after all, the Ishihashi brothers did it often. She waved as Ren turned the corner, after about 10 seconds, she bolted for her dressing room, undressing and redressing with record speed. She felt her blush return full force as she realized the gravity of Ren's confession. Grabbing her bag, Kyoko tried to speed walk out the building doors, hand over her mouth as her mind reeled, when she bumped into Hikaru Ishibashi, his brothers, Yusei and Shinchi behind him.

"Kyoko-chan? Where are you going in such a hurry? Say if you don't have any plans toda, do you want to have dinner …..with …..us..." He trailed off as he noticed the fiery blush on her skin, the wide watery eyes and the trembling lips. He gulped, even in this hassled state, she was adorable.

"K-kyoko-chan, are you alright?" Shinchi asked, leaning around his brother to peer into her face. She seemed almost stupefied,, he tried waving a hand in front of her face. She blinked, and squeaked as she noticed the three brothers staring at her. She quickly buried her face in her hands, hiding behind them.

"I-I'm alright." She said, her voice muffled by her hands.

"You don't seem alright Yusei said skeptically, as Kyoko shook her head at him frantically, hands still covering her face. "I-It's nothing Yusei-kun, I was just..shocked by something. I'll be alright. And I'm sorry I won't be able to accompany you for dinner tonight, maybe next time?" She tried to smile cheerfully, despite her face being covered as she quickly bowed and practically sprinted out the studio buildings doors, leaving three thoroughly confused brothers in her wake.

"Well," Shinchi said, as the three scratched their heads in confusion. "That was odd. Even for Kyoko-chan." Nodding their agreement, they went about their business.

LINELINELINE

Kyoko practically snuck into Ren's - well now her - apartment building. She was glad that Ren had a meeting right now, just the possibility of running into him right now sent her into a panic, which she didn't think she'd be able to suppress if she actually came face to face with him now. Kyoko let herself into her apartment, dark since no one but her lived in it. Normally, she would've given some time to admire her apartment and take a look around but circumstances currently didn't permit that. She slid to the ground, her back pressed against the front door, as she finally let all the feelings she had pushed back spill forth.

"He loves me," she whispered to herself, feeling if she didn't vocalize the realization, it wouldn't seem real. "He loves  _me._ He loves Mogami Kyoko!" The idea was so novel she just couldn't wrap her head around it. She didn't understand and yet she did. The first time Ren had spoken to her of the unnamed high school girl had been back when he was trying to find Katsuki, and that was almost six months ago. Her face burned as she recalled her acting practice with Ren as a practice partner for his test. Now she realized that he had lost control back then, he hadn't been acting Katsuki, he'd been acting  _himself!_  Se began to recall so many other things that her mind just wouldn't settle down, especially as she thought back to valentine's day. Suddenly she realized she was losing it completely. She was hyperventilating, which wouldn't help her in the least. She decided to take a bath to calm down and discuss things with someone she knew she could trust.

Ten minutes later, as Kyoko got out of the bath, feeling calmer and more refreshed then before, she picked up the phone, planning to call Kanae, when her phone rang, startling her so much that she almost dropped it.

"Hel-"

"Mo! Didn't I tell you to call me when you were done!"

"Sorry I was just about to -"

"Never mind that, So? Did he show up?"

Kyoko bit her lip, she wondered how Kanae was going to take the news.

"Oh he showed up alright."

"Well? What did he say?"

"He said he was a moron and a grade-A idiot, that he'd made a huge mistake and he was kicking himself over it."

"See? He's not so bad? He  _does_  feel bad about it."

"That's not all her said Moko-san..."

"It's not? Well, out with it then, what else did he say?"

"...He said he's in love with Mogami Kyoko."

Then line went silent. Then:

"Oh. my. god."

Kyoko nodded, understanding her friend's shock.

"I know right? Out of everyone he chooses -" She heard laughter on the other end of the phone.

"Moko-san, are you  _laughing?_ "

"Oh my god," Kanae said again, gasping for breath, in between laughing. "He confessed to a chicken! he confessed to you and he doesn't even know it! Oh this is priceless, Kyoko just forgive the guy already, this is too funny!"

Kyoko frowned.

"Moko-san!"

"Sorry, sorry. Seriously, I get that what he did was wrong, but it's obvious that he knows what he did was wrong and that he regrets his actions. Otherwise why would he come to Bo looking for advice?"

Try as she might, Kyoko couldn't argue with that logic.

"By the way are you still mad at him?"

The question stopped Kyoko in her tracks.  _Was_  she still angry with Ren? She thought for a moment.

"Kyoko?"

"No. No, I don't think so. Like you said, he feels really bad about what he did and wants to make it up to me. If he apologizes to me properly, I think that would be it for the issue. I just want to hear him tell me he's sorry," Kyoko said, thinking contemplatively. "By the way Moko-san are you home yet?"

The other girl was slightly taken aback by the sudden change in topic.

"What? No, I'm just leaving a set rigght now."

Kyoko squealed in delight, she had caught her friend at the perfect time.

"Moko-san! Why don't you stay over tonight at my new apartment?" Kyoko crossed her fingers, hoping she would accept. Kanae could be awfully stubborn about the strangest things.

"But I don't have any clothes or anything with me."

"It's fine, I have extra toothbrushes and clothes here that you can use.

"Fine."

Hanging up the phone, Kyoko began bustling around preparing for her guest. As she quickly put on a pot of beef stew, thanks to her fully stocked fridge and pantry, Kyoko tried to sift through the changes in her life since beginning Faster than a Kiss as Kaji Fumino. It was ironic that she had fallen in love with the very man that she had spent the better part of 2 years hating as her  _beloved_  Sho had tried to surpass him. She was in love with Sho's arch enemy. Well, she snorted, they were still mortal enemies, she'd just happened to switch sides. She thought about Ren, what was it that attracted her to him? She contemplated as she chopped and added vegetebles to the beef stew she was cooking.  _Well I mean I loved him sure, but I think it was probably because he was the only guy I was ever exposed to. I don't think I had a choice whether or not I wanted to fall in love with him. He was the only one there and I had so much_ _ **overflowing**_ _love and nowhere for it to go. So I probably just latched onto him instead._  Kyoko heard her phone buzz distantly and picked it up to see an unidentified number on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Ahh Kyoko-chan! It's me, Shoko!" Kyoko tried to stifle her sigh. It was her charge's fault that she was in the mess she was in now.

"Good evening Shoko-san."

"I just thought you might want to know that Sho is okay now. The doctors are examining him now for any after affects but overall, he's unscathed."

"Great, now if that's all-" She sandwiched the phone between her shoulder and her ear, stirring the stew.

"But you know, after that blood thirsty curse you put on him so long ago, I guess I was surprised to see you still love him."

Kyoko nearly dropped the entire pot of beef stew on herself in shock.

'WHAT?"

"W-well, you just acted so concerned for him to today, I thought maybe -"

"No way." Kyoko said vehemently into the phone. "No way in hell! The day I fall in love with that bastard from hell is the day I give up being an actress."

There was a moment of awkward silence on the other end of the phone and Kyoko sighed.

"I'm sorry Shoko-san, I didn't mean to yell like that -"

"Nice to know that I bring such strong feelings into your heart Kyoko." Kyoko stiffened as she recognized the haughty voice.

"Good evening Fuwa-san."

"Seriously. What is with that  _Fuwa-san_  crap? Gives me the creeps. Just call me Sho-chan like you used to." She could practically see the smirk on his face,

"Well, clearly you are feeling better," Kyoko said, ignoring his obvious bait to her."Do continue to rest, and please look forward to me crushing you out of existence in the future. Goodbye Fuwa-san."

"Why you -"

BEEP

Kyoko hung up and tossed the phone back into her purse. She didn't have time to be dealing with such morons, her precious Moko-san was coming over! Everything had to be PERFECT! She thought back to her relationship with Sho as she set a pot of rice on the stove.  _Man, I was an idiot. Looking back, it was clear he never had any interest to begin with, yet I followed him around like a stupid little dog._  An image of Mimori popped up in her mind again and she shuddered.  _I am glad I got out of it when I the other hand, Ren, I fell in love with him despite vowing not to. And he didn't even try to make me fall in love. He helped when he could, and tried to teach me everything he could about acting without acting self righteous._ He was kind, thoughtful, and had an entertaining sense of humor, something that she didn't even know she valued up until now.  _And,_  she thought blushing,  _it doesn't hurt that he's handsome and has a physique that's to_ _ **die**_ _for._ Her time as Setsu had definitely helped her establish that. She vividly remembered walking in on him while he was showering and being utterly mesmerized by the water droplets that seemed to glisten and slide of his skin, tracing a path down his body. She blushed again, yep, he was more of a man than Shotaro could ever hope to be.

Kyoko was suddenly brought out of her musings by the ringing of her doorbell. Upon opening it, she found herself face to face with Kanae, carrying a cake that she had picked up from a bakery on the way.

"Mo!" she said, shoving the bag at Kyoko. "This is a housewarming gift."

Kyoko blinked at the cake and then grinned widely at her friend.

"Thank you Moko-san! How thoughtful!" she said as she pulled her inside her apartment. Kanae looked around the room as she took her coat off.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. The president didn't skimp out on anything did he?" she mused. Kyoko just chuckled lightly as she set the cake down and checked on her stew. Kanae came into the kitchen and leaned on the counter as Kyoko busied herself in cooking.

"So what are you going to do? Ren  _did_  confess to you, you know. You have to give him an answer don't you?" Kyoko blushed.

" Yeah he did confess, but Moko-san, he confessed to Bo the chicken. Not to Mogami Kyoko. Don't you think it would strike him as odd if I randomly appeared in front of him going 'I LOVE YOU TOO REN!' Especially since I was super pissed off at him this morning. Mark my words, if I hadn't heard his side of the story this afternoon, I would've have cursed for every single one of his next lives." Kanae shuddered. That threat was not something to be taken lightly. Especially not when Kyoko was making the threat. "Besides, he'll think that Bo tracked me down or something and told his feelings and he would forever lose his trust in Bo."

Kanae agreed with her reasoning. Partially.

"Oi, you realize you're going to have to tell him sooner or later that you're Bo, you can't keep hiding that from him forever. Sooner or later he'll find out." Kyoko paled slightly at the implications and laughed nervously as she put on a pot of rice.

"I'm trying not to think about that. By the way Moko-san, when did you become so close to Ren that you call him by his first name?" Kyoko added some seasoning to the rice and turned to find Kanae grinning mischievously at her.

"Jealous are we?"

"No of course not!" The red tinge of her face easily gave away the truth however. Kanae smirked. "Easy, I told him we should call each other by our first names so that it would be easier to get you to agree to call him by his first name. We decided it would get him one step closer to confessing to you."

"On step closer - wait a second! Moko-san you  _knew?"_  At Kyoko's shocked reaction, Kanae rolled her eyes.

"Honestly woman, the whole world can see that the man is stupid in love with you. The only one who didn't notice was you, you dunderhead."

"You mean everyone else knows? Who?"

"Hmm. Let's see," Kanae began to tick people off on her fingers."Yashiro, (he was the first one to figure out Ren was in love with you when even  _he_ didnt know it himself.) Shingai-san, Ogata-san, Me, The president, Maria-chan, Amamiya-san, Fuwa, the stupid Beagle guy and probably anyone who takes one look at the two of you together." The look of mortification on Kyoko's face was so comical that Kanae couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling up.

"Moko-san! Why didn't you tell me earlier!" Kyoko pouted embarrassed as Kanae stopped laughing and grinned wryly.

"I tried remember? That day when you met Ren for the first time after shooting Fuwa's Prisoner PV. Do you remember how pissed off he was when you told him that the reason you accepted the job wasn't for revenge? He wasn't mad because he could sense that you were lying to him, he was mad because he believed you and that made him jealous. Although at the time, even he didn't know why he was pissed. He just denied everything."

Kyoko stared at Kanae slackjawed as the incident in question came vividly back to her. She nodded her head slowly.

"That's right. I remember that."

"Do you also remember that when I said he might be jealous, you looked at me like I'd grown two heads. You know, at the time, it was the most logical conclusion AND it was the right one." The girls laughed at the past memory and moved the finished dinner to the dining table and began to eat.

"Besides," Kanae said, after swallowing a mouthful of beef stew and rice. "you would never have believed me, anyways. A secondary source can never measure up to the real thing, right?" Winking as Kyoko flushed crimson. "By the way this is really good."

"I-is it? Thank you! But you're right, as much as I hate to say it. Its not that I don't trust you or anything. It's just the only reason I believe him is that he isn't the type of person to go spouting his feelings off to everyone. The fact that he told Bo about her identity tells me two things. 1) that he trusts Bo as a friend enough to trust him with such sensitive information 2) that he really does love me, or he wouldn't have told Bo. He wouldn't talk the way he does about her - I mean me - if he didn't truly have feelings for he...-me." She finished shyly. Kanae grinned at her shyness.

"So how are you going to act tomorrow on set? For all accounts and purposes, Mogami Kyoko doesn't know that crucial piece of information, and is still suuuuuuuuper pissed off at Ren." Kyoko thought for a moment.

"He seemed to want to apologize but until he actually does so, I'll just continue to act like how I was before." Kanae felt the uncharacteristic urge to tease her. She assumed it was because she seemed to genuinely care about her.

"So you're not gonna tell him that you loooooooove him?"

"MOKO-SAN!"

LINELINELINE

The next morning, Kanae and Kyoko showed up to the shoot relatively early. Today they were shooting the scene where Shouma discovers the living situation of his older brother. Kanae wasn't technically needed for the shoot, but judging by what was most likely going to go down today, Kanae thought she should be there for moral support. Besides, she couldn't shake the feeling that something HUGE was going to happen today.

true to Kyoko's word, as they entered the studio, Kanae noticed Ren pacing restlessly on the far side of the room by the co-directors. Noticing their entrance, Kanae saw him square his shoulders and make a beeline straight for them. Kanae subtly nudged Kyoko and she schooled her face into the appropriate façade of she believed to be the perfect expression of annoyance.

"Kyoko." She heard him before she saw and she was glad she was acting as someone who was angry at him, otherwise she didn't think she would have been able to suppress the shiver that would have traveled up her spine at the sound of low baritone voice. He was standing behind her with Yashiro, Shingai, Ogata and Kinnji as an audience.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Kyoko said, turning around slowly to glance only minimally at Ren using the coolest voice she could muster. She could see the men go pale and their eyes widem as they had only ever heard her use the warmest of voices. To Kyoko and Kanae's complete and utter surprise - as well as everyone else's - Ren did a full 90 degree bow, bending so the upper half of his body was paralell with the ground.

"I'm sorry." He said in a clear voice. Kyoko was left shocked at the position he had taken. Never in her wildest dreams, did she think he would choose THIS method to apologize. All around her, she could see various crew and cast members stop and gape at the seemingly subservient pose.

"E-eh?" It was all she could muster under the circumstances. He didn't straighten as he explained himself and nor did he look up, keeping his gaze glued firmly to the floor.

"I was wrong to say what I did. I will not try to make excuses for my behavior, only that I was wrong in saying and doing what I did. " Kyoko bit her lip and glanced at Kanae out of the corner of her eye. It seemed he wouldn't move from that position until she did something about it. Seeing Kanae nod subtly, Kyoko walked up to Ren, hands on her hips in indignation.

"What you did was really mean Ren. I didn't expect that from you."

Ren flinched, from his position, all he could see were her feet but seeing her face wasn't necessary. The underlying hurt in her voice was clear and could not be mistaken. Suddenly, he felt her hand on his shoulder.

"Since it's obvious you're sorry, let's just forget it ever happened okay?" Startled, Ren straightened up, looking at Kyoko and realizing she meant it.

"You- you're not angry?" Kyoko locked her arms behind her, and looked at him smiling innocently.

"Oh no. Up until about 20 minutes ago, I was ready to tear you into teeny tiny pieces and throw you into Tokyo Bay." Ren gulped, as did the others, except for Kanae. Sure she was smiling, but the look in her eyes told them she was dead serious. "But," she continued cheerily. "My rule of thumb is that if someone apologizes to me and they mean it, then that is that. There's no more to it. I see no reason to hold." There was a moments silence as Ren and Kyoko sized each other up. Kyoko was willing her body with all her strength not to throw herself into his arms right here and now. Now that she knew he felt the same way, she wanted to just confess and be with him. She kept it under check though. Until he came to her of his own accord, she wouldn't force anything. After all, there had to be a reason he hadn't confessed right?

Ren on the other hand was stumped. He didn't understand why her anger had all of a sudden cooled down. He had been positive that he would be rebuffed at least once before she would accept his apology. Not only that but, she kept glancing at him, over and over again, and that wouldn't have seemed like such a big deal originally, but there was something in the way that she looked at him at now, something that made smolder inside. It was almost like she was inviting him to try his luck with confessing to her. He swallowed hard, all of a sudden, he had a feeling that something was drastically going to change today


	13. What. The. Hell.

Through out the day, Kyoko tried to concentrate. She really did. But really, when the love of your life confesses to you, really, how do you concentrate on anything at all? But concentrate she did, after all if she didn't, this next scene could go VERY badly. She focused on the next shoot of the day, and the costume she was to wear for it.

A towel.

That was it. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Okay, technically, that wasn't  _entirely_  true. She wouldn't be nude under it or anything since the directors had very kindly offered a solution to her modesty problems.

A nude body suit.

Apparently, no one but she, Kanae and the directors knew a body suit was involved at all. So while she was calmly getting ready, she could see the little wheels turning in Ren's head to save her modesty. Really, it was amazing the things one could notice when given the proper information. He ought to know that there was no way that the directors would let a 17 year old girl parade around practically naked on set. No way.

Though she wasn't naked, it was pretty damn close. As she stepped into the suit and wrapped the towel around herself, securing it tightly, she had to admit, if she didn't know any better, she would've thought she  _was_  naked. She slipped on her robe and stepped outside her dressing room only to bump into Kanae. With Kanae in tow, she went to Ogata-san and Shingai-san to be briefed for her scene before shooting it. She didn't see Yashiro and guessed that he was probably hiding. He probably didn't want to be exposed to her longer than necessary for fear of Ren's wrath. The directors called for the set to be cleared and for all actors to be in position. She positioned herself at the tub and closed her eyes, letting Fumino take over.

**[Scene Begins]**

**Fumino washed Teppei's back, thinking about Shouma. There was definitely more than meets the eye about the story here, she thought. When Sensei got home, she would definitely get him to tell her everything! She reached over in the tub for the shampoo, only to find the bottle empty and got up, towel and all , to get a new bottle out of the bathroom cupboard. The small amount of cloth to barely cover her didn't bother her since Teppei was the only one there.**

**[Scene Interrupted]**

Kyoko could dimly hear Yashiro enter the apartment, calling his brother's name. She then heard him make his way to the bathroom and braced herself.

**[Scene restarts]**

**Fumino bent over, picking up the bottle from the floor cabinet and straightened up again. She shook the bottle only to realize that this too was almost empty.**

**"Hmm, I should probably go shopping for more shampoo tomorrow. We're running out." She said absent mindedly to herself. Suddenly the door to the bathroom swung open to reveal a dumbfounded Shouma.**

**"Wha-wha-what are -" He never got to finish the sentence as Fumino shrieked and promptly dropkicked him in the head. It was an instant knockout and it was to a scene of a towel clad Fumino nursing an unconscious Shouma to which Ojiro Kazuma returned.**

**"Wha? Why is Shouma here? And why is Fumino-san naked?" He was so shocked that he dropped everything he was carrying.**

**"Sh-shut up moron! I'm not naked! I'm still wearing a towel!" A harried Fumino cried, crossing her arms protectively over her chest. "More importantly, what are we gonna do? We've been found out! What if he tells the school?" Kazuma gathered his panicking wife in his arms.**

**"Shh Fumino-san, we haven't been found out before and we won't be found out now. I've told you many times and I'll say it again. " He cuped the sides of her face, making her look at him. "I don't care who tries to separate us, I'll never let you go." Fumino stared into his eyes to see only an immense amount of love staring right back at her.**

**"What are you two** _**doing?** _ **" The moment was broken by the appalled voice of Ojiro Shouma, Kazuma hugged Fumino tighter to him, smiling at Shouma cheerily.**

**"What am I doing? What does it look like? I'm hugging my wife and my brother-in-law." He said, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.**

**"DON'T SCREW WITH ME!" The yelled statement was so loud that it scared poor Ryuu sensei next door and caused him to spill his ramen. "Mou, that stupid couple next door." He grumbled mopping up the mess.**

**[Scene End]**

"annnnd CUT!" Ogata-san called, beside him, Shingai-san began tapping out rapid-fire orders.

"Ren, Kyoko-chan, and Yashiro, we're going to film the park scene next! Kyoko -chan hurry up and change and meet us there!"

"Hai!" She hurried to her dressing room, forgetting her robe in the process, clad only in her towel. Ren twitched as many crew members stopped working and watched her dash by adoringly, cheeks slightly red. Beside him, he heard Kanae curse under her breath.

"Damn that clueless woman!" She muttered, picking up the robe. " Oie,  _wait_ you moron!" She sprinted after her. Ren and Yashiro chuckled, the latter stopping abruptly and changing his laugh to a cough when he caught sight of Ren's knowing, slightly teasing look.

"Shaddup dammit."

"Okay boys, " Ogata approached to brief them on the scene. "This is the scene where Fumino chases after Shouma because she sees something deeper in his behavior towards his brother, and here is where Shouma takes advantage of that to try and push Kazuma's buttons. Make it look  _real_." He said, turning and ordering the unneeded people off the set as Kyoko hurriedly returned, changed into casual clothes. Yashiro suddenly tensed feeling Ren go into gentleman mode. He turned slowly to find that brilliant smile aimed at him.

"Yashiro-san please do your best in this scene." He clapped him on the shoulder making Yashiro shudder.  _I am a dead man._

**[Scene Begins]**

**"Shouma-kun!" Shouma looked up to see Fumino running towards him, waving her arms. "Whew, I thought I'd missed you, but here you are." She looked at what she thought was his miserable visage and sighed.**

**"Sorry, in truth, it's just my brother and I depending on Sensei for a place to live." Shouma looked at her in surprise. "So please don't blame him, sensei is actually a great teacher."**

**"So in the end,** _**you're** _ **the reason why Oni-san has sunk to this level" The words were said with such hate, that Fumino paused for a second, making sure the statement had really been said by him.**

**[Scene interruppted]**

Kyoko knew that they were just acting but she could feel hatred practically wafting off of Yashiro and shuddered inwardly. He was a formidable actor indeed. But she decided inwardly,  _I'm not going to let him push me around!_  She threw herself back into character.

**[Scene Restart]**

**Huh? Fumino thought confused.**

**"An amazing teacher?" She widened her eyes at his derisive tone and wasn't able to defend herself in time when he pulled her flat onto the park bench, pinned beneath him. "Are you an idiot?" He snorted. "After going home with him, what** _**else** _ **have you done with that teacher? And yet you still say such pretty words." Fumino flushed in rage.**

**"Wha- We haven't done anything!" She struggled in his arms, he was stronger than he looked.**

**"Aww, still full of lies?"**

**"What's with you! I thought you wanted to repair your relationship with Sensei!" Fumino struggled to push him off her but he wouldn't budge.**

**"Ha? I never wanted such things. That's in your own head. The only thing I've ever wanted is to make him taste** _**defeat** _ **." He stroked a finger down her face. "Right now, " He said, smiling, "All I need to do is snatch you away and I'll be successful, right?"** _**What is this boy saying?** _ **Thought Fumino, terrified.**

**"Stop right there!" A voice called loudly, and right in between the space between her and Shouma, four projectiles whizzed past, embedding themselves firmly in the wood of the bench, just a millimeter from Shouma's nose. Looking closely they were actually coins.**

**[Scene Interrupted]**

_Ren that was not rehearsed!_ Yashiro wailed inwardly _, that could actually have taken my nose off! Control yourself will you?_

**[Scene Restart]**

**"My my, you've been brought up to be very well mannered Shouma." Kazuma said sarcastically, smile firmly in place, ignoring the horrified looks on the faces of his younger brother and wife, Teppei in tow.**

**"Sensei!" Fumino cried, still pinned under Shouma.**

**"Let me warn you one more time Shouma." Kazuma said, narrowing his eyes, his gaze cold. "Do not come near my wife." Shouma looked throughly let down.**

**"You're wrong. Just for one student, why are you risking everything just for one** _**student?"** _ **Kazuma smiled as he scooped Fumino up from the bench and lead Teppei along with one hand.**

**"You'll find it one day Shouma. Something so precious you just can't let it go." With that he walked away, leaving Shouma standing there, gaping at his brother. After a few minutes, he rummaged around in his bag for his phone. Dialing a number, he ordered for a car a to come pick him up. Then he paused...**

**"Where the hell am I?" He asked himself.**

**[Scene End]**

**LINELINELINE**

Phew, Kyoko thought, as she was finally dismissed from set. They had been shooting no stop all day, and she bone tired. She just wanted to go home and sleep. She was so glad she had no other jobs lined up for today. Ren had already retired from his dressing room with Yashiro, they were waiting for Ogata-san and Shingai-san to give the final okay to leave. Kyoko on the other hand was looking for her best friend who seemed to have mysteriously disappeared from sight after the shoot. She realized that in her searching she had somehow ended up in the hallway of Ren's dressing room. As she grew parallel to the room, she began to hear voices. She had planned to walk away for respect of his privacy...until she heard her own name being mentioned. She crept closer to the door, despite herself.

"Ren, this is  _ridiculous_ , how is this going to go on?" That was definitely Yashiro-san, he sounded oddly serious and...upset?

"What do you want me to do Yashiro, just waltz up to the girl and tell her I love her?" Ren burst out in reply, sounding more than just upset, he sounded...frustrated. Kyoko realized that they were most definitely talking about her, and the reason for which Ren was holding himself back. Her mission to find Kanae forgotten, Kyoko strained to hear more.

" _Yes_ , for Kami's sake! Why is that so hard for you? It's like you don't even want to give happiness a chance!"

"Because I don't deserve it, alright? Are you happy? I've finally told why I won't try to make her mine. Because I goddamn don't deserve her!"

"And what if Kyoko-chan loved you back,you fool? When? Could you still say that?"

"Yashiro, you don't understand, I love her more than life itself, if she just asked, I'd lay the world, hell, I'd lay my life down at her feet." Outside, Kyoko's eyes widened as she heard the passion in his voice. Was that..that..tenderness directed at her? She focused as she realized he was till speaking.

"But, she's only 17! I can't lay my hands on a high school student! It's just wrong! I'm an adult man and she's still just a child! A child who's had her heart broken and won't believe me even if she wanted to. I won't do that someone who's just discovering life and the joys it can bring. I'd be no better than a teacher who preys on his student!" She heard him trail and clenched her hands in fury.  _That_  was what was holding him back? She heard Yashiro begin to speak.

"Ren you really think that she's too young for you? For the love of -" He stopped abruptly and Kyoko cocked her head. Why did he stop talking?

"That's not it." She heard a soft female say. Kyoko realized with a start that Kanae was in there with them as well. "There's something else that's keeping you from telling her how you feel. You're holding back, like you're punishing yourself Ren. Why?" She heard a small silence. Then:

"There are things about me," he said, "things I've never told anyone, things that could hurt her. I'm a monster, Yashiro. I don't even deserve to be alive, but here I am. I'm not just Tsuruga Ren any more than you're just Yashiro Yukihito. The truth about me will appall her and alienate her from me forever. I'm fine with things the way they are. It's better this way."

"Ren you honestly can't seriously believe that!" Yashiro exclaimed, surprised at the semi-confession Ren made. Outside the dressing room, Kyoko stood, head down, hands clenched tightly into fists, positively shaking in anger.  _What the -_

"I can and I do! She'll never accept me! Kanae you yourself can't say she wouldn't be repulsed if I confessed to her! This is the way things should be. It's for her own good."

Kyoko snapped.  _This man!_  She fumed in her mind.

_SLAM!_

All three occupants of Ren's dressing room jumped as his door was violently thrown open to reveal a seething Kyoko.

"K-kyoko-chan?" Yashiro approached the young woman hesitantly. He had always been told by his older sister that angry women were the scariest, because they were the most unpredictable people on the planet. Kyoko glanced at Yashiro and Kanae, her gaze freezing them to the spot.

"Yashiro-san, Moko-san?"

"Y-yes?"

"If you are done talking with my  _esteemed senpai_ , I would like to have a word with him." She paused. "Privately." She said with a smile reminiscent of Ren's gentlemanly smile.. "So kindly," she lead them to the door. "Leave us alone."

The two positively fled the room, flinching as Kyoko slammed the door shut in their faces with a decisive thud.

"Think Ren will be alright?"

"I dunno, I wonder what`s gotten her so riled up."

The two looked at each other suddenly, eyes wide, as an unexpected thought occurred to them.

"You don't think...?"

"..."

"Ren's a dead man."

LINELINELINE

"Kyoko? Are you alright?" Ren watched Kyoko from his seat. She hadn't turned around since sending Yashiro and Kanae out of the room. Looking closely, he realized she was shaking. He got up, reaching out to touch her shoulders.

"Kyo-"

"Baka."

 _What?_  He thought, confused.

"I'm sorry?"

Kyoko whirled around to face him suddenly, stomping closer to shove him back down into his chair. Ren stared up at her, stupefied.

"You are the most  _uptight, prudish,_ **stupid** _ **,**_ _stubborn, moronic,_  man I have ever met in my life!" She hissed at him. Ren twitched angrily.

"Wha-"

"What gives you the right to make my decisions for me? Why is this all about you? YOUR secrets, YOUR feelings, what about me? Did you ever ONCE stop to think about how I would feel?" Ren tried to get up.

"Kyoko I -" He was pushed back down, forcefully, and this time, Kyoko went down with him, parking herself in his lap, so she was straddling him. His eyes went wide.

"Did you even ask me? Don't I even deserve a say in this? This concerns me too you fool! And what do you mean you don't deserve happiness?" She said, tears now filling her eyes, although she looked far from sad, she was furious. "What do you  _mean_  you would walk away even if I felt the same? If I LOVED you!" She was crying now, pounding her fists into his chest weakly. "Everyone has secrets you idiot! That doesn't mean anything! If you truly loved me, you'd know I'd accept all of you!" She grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer. Ren was by now so thoroughly disoriented by everything; it was all he could do to just stare at her in amazement. "You said you loved me right? That if I asked, you'd lay your life at my feet? Then do it! Give yourself to me!" She cried, "Take responsibility for making me fall in love with you!"

With that, Kyoko grabbed his tie, pulling him forward, and firmly sealed her lips over his. All coherent thought flew from Ren's mind. All except one.

_What. The. Hell._


	14. INDECENCY

Yashiro and Kanae paced nervously on set. It had been 30 minutes since Kyoko had gone into Ren's dressing room and neither had emerged since. They'd retreated to the set to give them some privacy, but they couldn't help but worry. The directors asked concernedly if they were alright but they just waved their hands, unable to explain. Kinnji suddenly appeared, looking confused and slightly scared.

"Hey what's going on? I just passed Ren's dressing room and I could hear Kyoko-chan yelling at him. Sounded super mad." Kanae groaned and threw her hands up in defeat.

"Mo! I don't know anymore!" All of a sudden, a loud  **bang**  echoed through the studio, stilling everyone., originating from Ren's dressing room. Kyoko'd voice now traveled clearly through the set.

"Forget it! I don't care anymore!" Kyoko came storming furiously through the set, making her way to her dressing room on the other side, Ren running behind her.

"Kyoko -"

"Just do what you want! You always have anyways! Why should this be any different?"

"Look I'm doing this for your own good!" Ren said, trying to keep up with her.

Kyoko continued to stomp away, her voice now shrill as she took in Ren's words.

"My own good? MY own good? How the hell do YOU know what's good for me, you self -righteous, uptight,  _annoying_  -" Kyoko never got to finish her sentence as Ren grabbed her shoulder and spun her around violently to grab her by the tie of her sailor uniform and yanked her to him, kissing her smack on the mouth in front of more than 250 crew and cast members. All around, files, props and other items clattered to the floor in shock as people stared amazed at the scene before them. Kyoko's own eyes flew wide open in blatant surprise.

5 seconds went by.

Then 10.

Then 20 seconds. Ren finally released her, leaving Kyoko gasping for breath. She stumbled backwards, almost falling, bending over and bracing her hands on her knees, panting and glaring at him.

"What was that for?"

"For being the most un co-operative, stubborn, and unpredictable woman I've ever met." Ren deadpanned much to the shock of the crowd, who sweatdropped.

 _Nooooo! Ren! What are you doing? Do you have a death wish? Where are your words of love you fool?_ Ogata, Yashiro, Shingai, and Kinnji wailed inwardly. Kyoko bristled at his words.

"Wha-"

"I love you." Ren said bluntly, watching all the color drain from her face. The confession had rendered her speechless, eyes wide as saucers. The rest of the crowd held their breath, wondering how Kyoko would respond. Ren glanced over his shoulder at his co-directors.

"Ogata-san, Shingai-san, is that all for today then?" At their mute, stupefied nods, Ren walked forward and scooped Kyoko up in his arms. The crew and cast gasped.  _Was he going to the princess hold and carry her away?_  Ren promptly slung her over his shoulder, causing his audience to gape at him openly.  _He's carrying her like a sack of potatoes!_

"Wha-hey Ren! Ren, put me down! Put me down right now or I'll - I'll - ARGH! Seriously, I  _will_  kill you!" Ren strode out of the studio, ignoring Kyoko's threats as they grew more and more venemous with every step he took.

Ren picked up their belongings and made his way to his car, studiously ignoring the odd looks people were giving them as they passed. He opened the back door of his car and all but threw Kyoko in, who yelped indignantly as she bounced off the seat.

"Ren what are you doing?" She screeched from the backseat as they peeled out from the underground parking lot of LME and entered the freeway.

"I want us to talk properly." Ren said, eyes fixed to the road.

"Was it necessary to  _kidnap_  me to do that? Could we not have talked at LME?"

"No."

Unsure of how to deal with the situation, Kyoko fell silent. She watched the night sky line pass by in a blur. He had finally said it to her face. He had told her he loved her, but that there was something that clearly held him back from taking her. She unsuccessfully tried to calm herself down. All she could conclude was that for better or for worse, something had changed tonight.

LINELINELINE

The elevator ride up to Ren's apartment was quiet. But not uncomfortably so. Kyoko briefly contemplated running to her apartment down the hall but decided against it. She was done with the uncertainties of their relationship. He was in love with her, and she with him. There was no doubt about that but until they figured out their status was, she wouldn't be able to rest easy. No matter how scary this was, it had to be done.

Ren on the other hand, had mixed feelings about this.  _She's awfully calm for someone who' s just been confessed to,_  he thought. _And by her esteemed senpai no less. Even if she did say she loves me, she'll definitely rethink that statement when we're done._  Ren sighed and opened the door to his apartment, ushering her inside, not bothering with the lights. Kyoko stood silently, waiting for Ren to speak. This was  _his_  talk anyway, she'd do her best to beat down any opposition he gave. He suddenly spoke.

"Kyoko, what do you think of an old man who preys on little girls?" Kyoko stared at him, unable to interpret the seemingly random question but answered truthfully.

"I think it's disgusting and that any man that attempts such a thing should be in jail for the rest of his life." Ren winced. It was the answer he'd expected but it hurt nonetheless.

"Well, there's your answer, that is why I refused to confess to you." Kyoko gaped at him , and she'd thought  _Shoutaro_  was stupid. She sighed, putting her hand to her forehead.

"Now see here you colossal moron. How are this and that  _remotely_  comparable? I am almost an adult, not to mention legally allowed to be married and you're only 4 years older than me. People with age gaps much, much larger than ours are together and are happy Ren." She studied his back, as he was facing the large ceiling to floor window of his living room. "Something is wrong Ren. You're using my age as an excuse. There's a reason why you're fighting this so hard. Tell me."

Ren stiffened. He hadn't counted on her uncanny perceptiveness to extend that far. How could he tell her? He wanted her more than anything else in the world and yet she was the one thing he'd never allow himself to obtain. He'd never let himself have her, it was his punishment. His atonement for the grief he'd caused.

"Tell me." Her voice was softer this time. She was asking him to open the door to the inner most part of him. He sighed.

"Could you love a murderer Kyoko?"

Kyoko froze. Of all the things that he could've said, that was one she wasn't expecting. He turned to her fully now, back to the window, the twinkling lights below creating a soft glow behind him that made him look positively ethereal to her.

"I have blood on my hands Kyoko, and the taint of it will never disappear." By now the apartment was completely dark, lit only by the lights of the bustling city below. Kyoko got up, grasping his hands and lead him back to the couch, sitting him down and crouching in front of him. She cupped the side of his face

"You're not a murderer Ren, what would make you say something like that?" He looked her in the eye then, his eyes impenetrable.

"I told you I grew up abroad." Kyoko nodded. "I lived in LA and my father was famous in the profession he was in. When I was little I wanted to be just like him." A ghost of a smile appeared on his listless face. "But that very ambition was forced upon me by others as well. Though my father always told me that I wasn't to become him but that I was to become my own person, somehow I felt that I needed to be him or like him in order to succeed in life. I spent two years trying to achieve that goal even though I should've known that was impossible." His voice took on a bitter note. "I was mocked constantly; I felt each person's littlest insult, feeling it to my very core, as if each word only amplified my failure to become my father. Then I did what seemed most logical, if I couldn't become my father, then all I had to do was become his complete opposite." Ren leaned forward, his hair falling to cover his face, leaving the rest of it in shadow. His face was completely obscured to Kyoko.

"That was when everything went downhill. I became lazy, arrogant, violent and cruel. The slightest thing could set me off. I became easily angered and lost control of myself frequently. I spent most of my time on the street in LA. Sometimes I would lose control so completely that when I would come back to myself, it looked like I was standing in the middle of a massacre." Kyoko listened in horror, to think that Ren had been through something like that was almost too much to bear. He seemed so pure. She listened intently as Ren continued, hands clasping his tightly clenched ones.

"in the midst of all that crap, I had a friend. Someone who'd seen me go through everything. My best and more importantly my worst. He meant everything to me. He'd always try to stop me from doing anything stupid, which was often. Usually, he was able to. All I'd have to hear was his voice and I'd calm down right away. But, I was so, so stupid." He hung his head, his voice near breaking. "I picked a fight with the wrong group of guys one day. I was completely outnumbered. Reduced to fighting with my fists in mob that fought with switch blades. Rick tried to stop me. He was yelling for me to stop and walk away. But I ignored him." Ren's voice was filled with remorse. "When I didn't listen, Rick jumped into the fight and ended up getting hit by the truck that was aiming for me." He paused, as if trying to figure out what to say next. Now that he had begun, he couldn't seem to stop. It was the first time he'd told the story from his own account. He'd heard other versions of it by others, but it was the first time he had told the story. Even his own parents or the boss had never heard what had happened from his own mouth. He wrenched his hands away from Kyoko and clutched his hair, as if saying 'make it stop' to some unseen force.

"I'll never be able to forget it." He said in a tortured voice. "Tina's scream echoes in my head everyday. Screaming that I was a monster and that it was my fault he was dead." He stopped. The word seemed so final. Kyoko had a hand over her mouth, too overcome with what Ren was telling her. "Yes, he was dead. Dead because of me. because of my idiocy. my cockiness." He whispered, tears streaming down his face. He hadn't cried then, or at Rick's funeral, but he was crying now. It felt like everything that had died then was now slowly, painfully, coming back to life. Things he'd worked for years to suppress. Kyoko still hadn't said a word, she remained kneeled in front of him, respecting his need to talk.

" I robbed a good man of his life, Kyoko." He finally seemed to remember she was there, addressing her for the first time since he began his tale. "He was going to propose to Tina that night. They could've had a family together, they could've been so happy together. It was their  _dream._  And I robbed them of that. I tore apart two lovers-soul mates- in the cruelest way possible. These hands," Ren held his shaking hands up to his face, clenching them into fists almost in fury. Kyoko followed his gaze. "have committed the worst sin. How could I permit them to hold you? To love you? I don't deserve to be happy, to have my dream handed to me when I've destroyed someone else's so completely? To hold you would be to taint you with my own sin." He fell silent as Kyoko's eyes filled with tears as she got up to pull Ren into a hug, holding him to her chest. They stayed like that for a while. Kyoko didn't say a word, knowing that whatever she might say would be immediately discarded. She would wait until he had calmed down enough to listen to what she had to say. After while, Kyoko lead him into his bedroom. She went to the bathroom to wet a towel with cool water, a quick glance at the clock as she reentered his room told her it was 9 o clock. She busied herself with wiping his face clean of sweat and tears. He looked physically and emotionally exhausted.

Ren wasn't even looking at her now. He was appalled at himself. He had broken down in the worst way possible and displayed the worst of himself so openly. But maybe now she would understand and leave things as they were. He searched for his Tsuruga Ren persona. Something to protect himself from whatever was to come. he stopped when he felt a cool hand cover his eyes.

"Stop." Kyoko said softly. "I know what you're doing. I can see you trying to pull that wall up and it won't work. This, right now, is really you. Don't cover it up. Just let everything go tonight." She slowly sat down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Ren, friendship is a fickle thing. It can be weak like string when insincere and strong as steel when faithful. Rick was the latter. He wouldn't have jumped in to save you if he didn't give you the same importance you gave him. He loved you dearly." She straightened and cupped Ren's face, forcing him to look straight at her.

"Rick  _died_  to save you. How do you think he would feel if he realized that his decision to save you caused you to mope and stew over it for the rest of your life?" Her own hazel searched his. "Why do you think he stepped into your fights at all? Do you think it was because he thought you couldn't handle it? No. It was because he  _knew_  that you were better than that. Better than the street fights you got involved in. That you could do something so much more meaningful in your life. He could see it, just like the world sees it now, like I see it." She slid her hands down now, seeing as she didn't have to force him to look at her, hands stopping on his chest, over his heart.

"As for love...Ren, it's true that Rick died, but do you think that he regretted what he did? I doubt he would have missed seeing that car. Rick, up until his last breath, did things by his own rules. Yes he died, but Ren, the dead never  _truly_ leave us. They remain close at heart." She paused, looking up into his eyes, then looked back down at her hand moving it to push his shirt away, exposing his bare chest. "I'm grateful for Rick-san's sacrifice, it's because of him that the love of my life now stands before me. As a man, as someone who knows the true value of life and knows how short it is. Without you, my life would be empty. This heart belongs to me now." She leaned in and pressed her lips to his chest, directly over his heart.

Ren closed his eyes. There was no way he could let her go now. Even if he wanted to he couldn't. He slowly lifted his hands and crushed her to him in a hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He repeatedly whispered her name into her hair, breathing in her scent. She looked up at him and smiled. "I love you." She said, looking into his eyes. There was only one thing left to do.

"Kiss me." She whispered to him. Ren cupped her tear streaked cheeks, stroking the salt tracks away with his thumbs. He carefully slanted his mouth over hers, finally making her his, though the kiss was chaste. he pulled away only to have Kyoko grab his shirt.

"Again." She whispered.

He pressed his lips against hers.

"Again." She said breathlessly when he drew away.

The third kiss became more passionate.

"More." She breathed. Ren slowly lowered her to his bed, lying beside her, leaning over her to kiss her again. Using his unoccupied hand, Ren searched blindly for the remote that controlled the lights in his room. Finally finding it, he clicked them off, plunging the room into total darkness.

LINELINELINE

Sunlight streamed through the open windows as Ren blinked his eyes open. He looked around. Everything was the same and yet everything was different. He felt lighter...almost carefree. Something he hadn't had the luxury of feeling for a while. Memories of the night before came rushing back, setting his cheeks aflame. He sat up in bed, scratching the back of his head. He'd broken down last night to a degree he wasn't even aware he was capable of. Feeling an unnatural coolness spread over him, Ren looked at himself only to discover he was only wearing briefs. He felt his whole body flush as  _other_  memories came flooding back at him. Vividly. He looked over to see the bed empty next to him and then perked up hearing the sounds of cooking from his seldom used kitchen. He opened the slightly ajar door to his bedroom only to stumble in shock as he saw Kyoko clad in his black cotton button up shirt, with no pants. He could clearly see the outline of her undergarments as well, and a sudden feeling of possessiveness overcame him. He grinned, turning around to pull his pants on, not bothering to button them up and walked into the kitchen, bumping a chair to announce his arrival. She turned around to greet him

"Good morning Re- oh whoa!-" She nearly dropped the bowl of batter she had in her hands as she quickly averted her eyes and blushed, picking at her - his - shirt. "Hi." She said shyly, glancing up at him from under her eyelashes.

"Good morning Kyoko." The second her name left his lips they both flushed, remembering... _things._ He leaned against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"Thank you." He said honestly. Kyoko stopped fidgeting and looked at him, confused.

"For what?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"For last night." Seeing her eyes widen and cheeks flush, Ren realized his mistake.

"Whoa, wait that's not what I meant! I'm not thanking you for that! I mean it's not like I  _wouldn't_  , I enjoyed - wait no, no that didn't come out right." Ren slapped his hand to his forehead, cursing his stupidity. A sudden giggle caused him to look up in time to see Kyoko walk towards him.

"I get it Ren, It's for listening right?" He nodded mutely, staring. Kyoko smiled and stretched up on her toes to kiss him. It quickly turned intense and the two soon became deaf to the world around them. Even to the sound of the door to his apartment opening and Yashiro and Kanae walking in.

When Yashiro and Kanae walked in, the sight they saw, was the  _last_  sight they'd ever thought they'd see. Kanae swayed on her feet. 

_God, that is waay too much skin this early in the morning._

Yashiro on the other hand was shocked. He only had one thing to say.

"INDECENCY!"


End file.
